Sunday, November 15, 2009

What is responsible tourism?

I came across this review of Tourism and Responsibility: Perspectives from Latin America and the Caribbean. The purpose of this book in part is to account for the full host of externalities from tourism development, beyond those addressed directly in decision-making among private actors.


From a quick read of the review only, it appears that both the authors and the reviewer endorse the term responsible tourism (over sustainable tourism or ecotourism). This term incorporates ethical considerations into the actions of tourists, owners, and governments. The key issue in my mind is that irresponsible development may be profitable in the short term at the firm level, but will erode the reputation of the industry as a whole over the long term. In this context, responsible tourism seems like a good term for addressing this reputational dimension, which isn’t always accounted for in private-sector decisions. Although responsibility perhaps is a weaker standard than sustainability, firms will have a tough time faking responsible action, whereas the definition of sustainability is an unknown at this point.