The difference from 5 years ago is noticeable. The awards event, on the
Wednesday, has blossomed into a glamorous display of candid debates, exciting
nominations and inspirational stories. The competition has grown in leaps and
bounds, the judges have become fiercer in their criteria, and most importantly,
the notion of responsible tourism is spreading across the industry.
The atmosphere in the World Travel Market always feels more positive on
that day. The buzz of the tourism entrepreneurs talking about their recent
projects, their new environmentally friendly schemes, their community
engagement achievements, or the new experiential activities they have launched,
creates a permeating aura of progress and positivity, especially at the RT
networking event.
Clients and customers meet to discuss future plans, connections are
made, friendships developed, ideas discussed, and thoughts shared. It is, from
experience, one of the most interesting and useful events of the whole tourism
calendar in the year. No wonder why responsible tourism has become the talk of
the whole WTM.
Having looked at this year’s schedule, responsible tourism workshops
and talks have sprouted all over the 4 day travel industry bonanza, rather than
just on the World Responsible Tourism Day. Apart from the RT awards, I shall be
attending as many workshops as possible, including ‘Maximising Local Economic
Development’, ‘Responsible Volunteering’, and ‘Activity Tourism’. Another
opportunity not to be missed for someone wanting to expand their knowledge on
the subject is the ‘Speakers Corner’ event that will allow people to share
their ideas, frustrations and thoughts about how the tourism industry should be
more responsible.
Wanting to play my part in the debate, I took the opportunity to voice
my interest, and was nominated as one of the speakers to talk about a topic of
my choice. I shall be talking about the responsibility that international
consultants have when working with developing countries to implement tourism
products. If you feel inclined to partake in the debate, come and join me at
12pm on the Wednesday. (Location: AS275 - South Hall and UKI230 - North Hall)
The World Responsible Tourism Day is a day of celebration for what has
been achieved, of reflection for what is left to be achieved, and a coming
together of like-minded people who want to make the travel industry more
responsible, sustainable and socially aware. An industry in which tourism is
not only seen to be an opportunity to discover the beautiful world we live in
through more experiential and authentic travel experiences, but can also be
used as a tool to make destinations better places to live, and better places to
visit.
So join me, and many others, on Wednesday 7th November to experience the future of the travel industry, at the World Responsible Tourism Day 2012 (www.wtmwrtd.com).
