Tourism has become the world’s biggest industry, with annual revenues of almost US $500 billion. But ethical travel only accounts for a small percentage of this industry.
What's more, thousands of grassroots, low impact, sustainable initiatives all over the world struggle to tell tourists they exist.
Now in its second edition, The Ethical Travel Guide is much more than a guide to holidays: it is a key tool in Tourism Concern's fight to ensure that local people always benefit from tourism.
Tourism Concern is an independent, non-industry UK charity that fights exploitation in tourism and promotes holidays that provide meaningful benefits to people in destination communities.
The easy-to-follow directory in The Ethical Travel Guide lists over 400 places in more than 70 countries, many of which you won’t find in conventional guidebooks. It caters for all tastes and budgets from ‘sustainable safaris’ in Africa to luxury culinary escapes in Crete.
The book also provides a background to the ethical issues involved in traveling. It discusses the environmental impacts such as ‘to fly or not to fly’ and the socio-economic and cultural impacts of travel. It stresses that ethical travelling is about choosing a holiday destination that really benefits the local community.
If there is anything to be taken from The Ethical Travel Guide, it is that tourism can have a positive impact.
The Ethical Travel Guide written by Polly Pattullo and Orely Minelli is available from Tourism Concern.
For more information on ethical travel visit www.tourismconcern.org.uk
