Taking Responsibility for Tourism
This paper provides an introduction to the concept of responsibility and a brief account of the
emergence of Responsible Tourism as a movement at the turn of the millennium. It then discusses
the ways in which businesses and governments, acting on behalf of communities can use tourism to
achieve sustainable development while avoiding being used by it. Overtourism is briefly discussed as
a consequence of the failure of businesses, tourists, and governments to take responsibility. The
paper concludes with some suggestions for research. The assertion that “You cannot escape the
responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today” is widely attributed to Abraham Lincoln. As von der
Leyen, President of the European Commission, has recently reminded us “The future will be what we
make it” (Riekeles, 2021, p. 4). Tourism is a form of human social activity with positive and negative
impacts. “Tourism is what we make it … the future will be what we make it” (Goodwin, 2016, p. 262).
Keywords: responsible tourism, corporate social responsibility, responsible business, ethics