Now we add "local" travel to the growing list. Help me flesh out the rest. There are the following that occur to me without much thought:
Ecotourism Sustainable Tourism Green Travel Geotourism Civic Tourism Placed-based Tourism Responsible Travel (Tourism) Fair Travel Beyond these "ethical" travel brands, there are those that focus on specific interests (at times, but not necessarily, combined with the ethic): Nature Tourism Adventure Tourism Heritage Tourism Voluntourism Experiential Tourism I am purposefully ignoring certain niches such as agritourism and culinary travel (slow food, locovores), although I guess that they could be thrown into the mix. At the ethics level, all work to: >establish a more meaningful connection between the travel and the nature, >culture, and history of the destination; >be sensitive to the local environment; >be respectful of local heritage; >and focus economic benefits on the local community. What makes any of these different from the rest, other than brand identity for a group of nonprofits or brand ownership by consultants? I am interested in the significant differences, not those minuscule distinctions that are more semantical than substantive. Finally, why not simply agree on one brand for ethical travel (following the tenants that I outlined above), and focus more on how these might be applied rather than spend all of our time trying to conjure another cute logo and tag line? In the US there are around 1 million nonprofits classified as 501(c)3 by the IRS. From 1998 to 2008 the number of 501(c)3 nonprofits in the US doubled. Here is the link for the details: http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/PubApps/profile1.php This represents one nonprofit of this classification (and there are several others, like churches) per 300 men, women, and children who live in the US. Perhaps we could do without more nonprofits, and instead focus on how to make the ones that exist more effective. In the end, ethical travel will be measured by concrete, measurable results, not the volume of brands that pours forth. Ted Eubanks
