Responsible tourism

Responsible tourism and sustainable tourism are equivalent concepts. In both cases, it is applied to the principles of sustainable tourism development in rhyming economic development with environmental and cultural customs of the countries visited.

The Charter of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) states that responsible tourism should be "long-term supportable ecologically, economically viable and equitable plan ethically and socially for local people."

Respect is one of the core values ​​of responsible tourism: respect for the environment, local cultures and lifestyles. Exchange and encounter are at the heart of responsible travel.

The main objective of responsible tourism by Marie-Andrée Delisle and Louis Jolin, authors of the book it is another tourism possible?, Is to "minimize to the maximum the traces left by tourists in the other."

Local economic development and preservation of cultural and natural resources are the basis of tourism also called alternative tourism today.

The first alternative tourism attempts date back to 50. But the real development of this form of tourism is much more recent. A new civic consciousness is invited to wanderlust. Some travel agencies have followed this movement in a purely marketing and economic purpose. But others have launched officials circuits in a real spirit of openness and sustainable development. The latter are also grouped in 2004 within the Association of Tour Operators Thematic (ATT) and set up the ATR label, Acting for Responsible Tourism, whose main objectives are respect for traditions and customs host countries and the fair distribution of resources between the different actors of the trip.

Several charters or labels have emerged on responsible tourism. These texts, written by official bodies, associations and travel agencies, form a working basis for developing this new way of traveling. But today, there is unfortunately still no official and general label guaranteeing the application of the great principles of responsible tourism.

Babel Travel is entirely devoted to this form of tourism, please consult our example of responsible tourism responsible tourism Morocco page.