Responsible tourism in focus
As part of the ongoing Latest Trends series, MU welcomed esteemed academic Harold Goodwin, Professor and founder of Responsible Tourism Management in the International Centre for Responsible Tourism at Leeds Metropolitan University, to speak on the theme ''Taking Responsibility for Tourism''. Drawing on the concept that people holiday in other people’s homes, the lecture specifically addressed the Cape Town Declaration, drafted by Goodwin in 2002, which aspires for tourism to make “better places for people to live in, better places for people to visit.”
Prof. Goodwin is a leading voice in responsible tourism, and for over a decade has been at the forefront of efforts to increase awareness on this topic. Among his multitude of achievements, he is an advisor to the World Travel Market on World Responsible Tourism Day, is an Expert Advisor to ABTA, the UK's Travel Association, co-founded ResponsibleTravel.com , is a member of the Editorial Board of Travel Law Quarterly and the International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology; just to name a few points on his impressive CV. Looking at the concept of responsible tourism as a reciprocal whole, he is involved in both ends of the spectrum: working with tour operators in the UK as an originating market, and with communities and governments in destinations around the world. His pioneering work on tourism and poverty reduction, and campaigns for responsible aviation have been widely recognized as groundbreaking in the tourism sector.
At MU, Goodwin’s Latest Trends lecture addressed what ‘responsible tourism’ means for the way tourism is organized, and for how we travel. Giving a short historical breakdown on the major initiatives undertaken in this field, his figures showed a positive turn towards growing awareness in ethical consumerism and travel. He states that maintaining the destination as an attractive place to visit requires upkeep of local flavor, including paying attention to human culture, diversity, and way of life, as well as conserving the natural habitat and species, and upholding the ecological integrity of a location. He contends that cultural sensitivity is a cornerstone of responsible tourism- involving local people in decisions, making positive contributions to conservation of natural and cultural heritage, and generating economic benefits enhances the wellbeing of host communities. This in turn gets back to the customer who benefits from a better experience, and creates a motivation to travel.
He sums up in a quote from Jost Krippendorf’s vision: ‘to develop and promote new forms of tourism, which will bring the greatest possible benefit to all the participants -travellers, the host population and the tourist business, without causing intolerable ecological and social damage.’’ This doesn’t just apply to eco-tourism either; all forms of tourism can be more responsible.
MU and Prof. Dr. Dagmar Lund-Durlacher thank Dr. Goodwin for his thought provoking presentation in our lecture series, which tackles the most pertinent topics in tourism, hospitality and sustainability. Upcoming Latest Trends seminars include:
Dr .Wolfgang Strasdas, Professor, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (D) will speak about “Measuring and Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Safari Tourism: The case of Namibia” on May 13th.
Dr. Christian Baumgartner, Secretary General, Naturefriends International (NFI), Vienna (A) will discuss “Cross-border Tourism along the Danube: Challenges of Sustainable Development at the Edge of Europe” on May 27th.
Mag. (FH) Philipp A.L. Patzel, General Manager, Hollmann Beletage (A) will address “Illusion & Authenticity in the Hotel Industry” on June 10th.
All seminars take place in the Audimax of MODUL University Vienna from 2:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m., and the public is welcome to attend.
