Responsible tourism -what is it and how can you travel responsibly?

Travel patterns and encounters with people when traveling pose particular environmental, social and economic challenges. (Goodwin, 2012, p. 11) Tourism can be unsustainable for many reasons. Some are simplier, which can be influenced by the responsibility of individuals, while some are more complex. In many cases, when it comes to responsibility, we focus on only one perspective without seeing the bigger, integrated picture. (Goodwin, 2012, pp. 17-18). However, tourism is one of the largest industries, so we cannot deny the need to talk about its responsibility (Goodwin, 2012, p.10).The first International Conference on Responsible Tourism in

Cape Town in 2002 identified seven priorities for responsible tourism:

· minimises negative economic, environmental and social impacts;

· generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities, improves working conditions and access to the industry;

· involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life changes;

· makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world’s diversity;

· provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues;

· provide access for people with disabilities and the disadvantaged;

· is culturally sensitive, engenders respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence.

(Goodwin, 2012, pp.28-29).The above measures constitute a process towards the sustainability of tourism. Sustainable tourism and the sustainable development of tourism are often seen as synonymous. It seeks to take into account the effects of tourism now and in the future, as well as the needs of tourism stakeholders. (Tervo-Kankare, 2017.) The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines three key goals for sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism should make optimal use of environmental resources, preserve biodiversity and maintain essential ecological processes. The idea of sustainable tourism is also to respect the authentic socio-culture of the host countries, preserving their traditional values and the built cultural heritage, and to increase intercultural understanding and tolerance. And third, the role of sustainable tourism is to ensure that the economic benefits are shared fairly among all stakeholders, improving the earning potential of the host country, creating sustainable employment and contributing to poverty alleviation. (UNWTO, 2005, pp. 11-12.)

The context is essential, as the challenges of sustainable tourism are different in different destinations and on different journeys, so responsible tourism can also be implemented with different solutions surrounded by different challenges. That is, although the principles and direction of sustainable tourism are the same in different places, the implementation methods may be different in order for tourism as a whole to move towards a more sustainable implementation. (Goodwin, 2012, pp.93-94.)