Do we care about responsible tourism?
I’ve always thought the term ‘responsible tourism’ was a contradiction in terms, like the phrase ‘honest politician’.
Of course tourism, particularly if it involves flying on an aircraft, isn’t great for the environment. But, many destinations are, to a greater or lesser extent, dependant on tourism. And, in any case, holidaymakers can’t be expected to carry the weight of the world’s problems on their shoulders.
Responsibletravel.com is a pressure group campaigning for, you guessed it, responsible travel.
But its latest tactics seem a little misguided. While posing the question, ‘should the responsible traveller be flying?’ it says: ‘As we fly into the Alps for our skiing holiday our flight is contributing to its destruction; our honeymoon flight to the Maldives is sinking it under rising sea levels…our safari flight to Africa is contributing to drought, famine and disease…’
I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more likely to make me want to go to the Alps, the Maldives and Africa (all at the same time) than being bombarded with that tirade.
It’s completely unrealistic to expect people to, for example, forego their ski holiday because they might cause some miniscule damage to the environment. (I wonder how many people from responsibletravel.com go on flights).
The company claims people should, if possible, avoid flying and instead use Eurostar. The Eurostar is an excellent and convenient service (and this site has two-for-one breaks), but people use it for exactly that reason, rather than any thought that they might be saving the planet.
Responsibletravel.com is also backing the Emissions Trading Scheme that, in essence, says net carbon polluters such as airlines should have to buy carbon credits to offset their emissions.
As far as individuals are concerned, previous campaigns to encourage people to put something back into the resorts they visit, by eating at local restaurants and buying from markets, is a far more sensible approach.
Do you care about responsible tourism and what, if anything, do you do about it?
Guest Article by Jeremy Skidmore
Monday, June 9th, 2008
