2001 in brighton sussex england headquarters brighton england key people justin francis founder and managing director ; richard skinner operations director products responsible holidays and accommodation website www.responsibletravel.com responsibletravel.com is an online travel agency offering over 7 500 responsible holidays from over 3 000 holiday providers around the world . it is one of the world s largest green travel companies . 1 the company sells holidays designed to maximise the benefit and minimise the harm involved in tourism 2 and was the first of its kind in the world . 3 holidays are screened for their compliance with environmental social and economic criteria with an emphasis on grassroot initiatives and local providers . 4 the company asks travellers to leave reviews rating their holidays and the social and environmental credentials from 5 to 1 . responsibletravel.com was founded in 2001 by justin francis and professor harold goodwin director at the international centre for responsible tourism . anita roddick of the body shop was one of the first investors 5 believing that responsible travellers want experiences rather than packages authenticity rather than superficial exoticism and holidays that put a little bit back into local communities and conservation . this is the future of tourism . 6 the company introduces travellers directly to responsible travel and tourism options including accommodation owners and holiday providers . there are several membership models for holiday companies ranging from full service commission through to free listings for smaller scale responsible tourism businesses . according to simon calder travel editor at the independent the responsibletravel business model overturned conventional travel thinking . instead of intervening between the travel enterprise and the tourist as most agents do francis urges them to talk directly . 2 the company has sold over 100 million worth of holidays . 7 in 2010 www.responsiblevacation.com was launched in the us . 8 the company is based in brighton east sussex uk . as of november 2013 there were 19 employees . contents 1 responsible travel and tourism 2 activities 2.1 world responsible tourism awards 2.2 our land 2.3 elephants and tourism 2.4 whales and dolphins in captivity 2.5 orphanage volunteering 2.6 carbon offsetting 2.7 had enough 3 references 4 external links responsible travel and tourism edit responsibletravel.com was the first online guide to responsible international travel . 9 responsible travel and tourism is about making better places for people to live in and to visit . one of the founding principles of responsibletravel.com was to help create this new sector of the travel and tourism industry and to firmly root it in ethical values . activities edit world responsible tourism awards edit in 2004 justin francis founded the responsible tourism awards which are organised by responsibletravel.com and hosted by world travel market as part of world responsible tourism day . professor harold goodwin of the international centre for responsible tourism is chair of the judges . the awards aim to inspire change in the tourism industry by celebrating those organisations destinations and individuals working innovatively with local cultures communities and biodiversity at the forefront of responsible tourism . awards supporter michael palin said getting to know more about each other remains one of the most important hopes for the peaceful future of the planet . if we are really to understand each other better then we need to be reminded to travel carefully and thoughtfully listening to people along the way and respecting the world we are privileged to travel through . the responsible tourism awards are one of the most important ways in which we can understand how to travel better . 10 in 2013 the 10th anniversary year 11 the awards were renamed the world responsible tourism awards to reflect the global reach of the scheme . our land edit responsibletravel.com was selected by the eu funded south east protected landscapes project in 2010 to help promote rural tourism in areas of outstanding natural beauty and national parks in the south of england . 12 in 2011 a new website www.our land.co.uk was launched by responsibletravel.com . 13 at the launch bbc tv wildlife presenter kate humble said i know people do feel protective of their countryside . if you live in a beautiful place you are not necessarily going to want bus loads of tourists but this is not what this initiative is about . it is about sustainable tourism that creates jobs and preserves the landscape for the long term good of the community . otherwise the countryside will be pickled in aspic rather than a living breathing working entity . 14 elephants and tourism edit after consulting with local suppliers ngos and animal welfare experts in 2014 responsibletravel.com published a detailed guide on elephants in tourism including the rights and wrongs of elephant trekking . the company also changed its own policy and removed elephant trekking and elephant performance trips from its collection . 15 whales and dolphins in captivity edit in april 2014 the company launched a public petition to urge travel companies to stop selling tickets to establishments keeping whales and dolphins collectively known as cetaceans for public entertainment purposes . they also released a poll along with the born free foundation demonstrating that 86 % of the public no longer wished to see cetaceans in captivity . 16 orphanage volunteering edit in july 2013 responsibletravel.com temporarily suspended 10 trips that involved volunteering at orphanages around the world for ethical reasons . 17 the company was concerned that well intentioned volunteers were fuelling a demand for fake orphans and children were being separated from their families and communities as a result causing long term psychological and emotional developmental problems . after formulating a working group which included ecpat save the children friends international people & places professor harold goodwin and daniela papi an international advocate for responsible volunteering the company published new guidelines for partner organisations wishing to promote any trip that involved volunteering with vulnerable children . as a result 43 trips were removed from the website in total . 18 carbon offsetting edit in 2002 responsibletravel.com became one of the first companies 19 to offer carbon offsets . in october 2009 responsibletravel.com stopped offering carbon offsetting 20 claiming that people were using the offset as an excuse to pollute more . 21 responsibletravel.com founder justin francis told the new york times that offsets had become a magic pill a kind of get out of jail free card distracting people from making more significant behavioral changes like flying less . 1 had enough edit in 2004 the company launched a campaign urging three of the uk s largest travel companies thomas cook thomson and mytravel to implement responsible tourism policies . 22 the had enough petition was launched after research showed widespread dissatisfaction with mass tourism among ordinary travellers . 23 a year later all three had published their first responsible business policies . 24 references edit a b rosenthal elisabeth 17 november 2009 . paying more for flights eases guilt not emissions . the new york times . the new york times company . retrieved 4 december 2013 . a b calder simon 6 april 2011 . justin francis i want to be a challenger . the independent . london independent digital news and media limited . retrieved 4 december 2013 . your ticket to green tourism . the argus . brighton newsquest media group limited . 24 april 2001 . retrieved 13 december 2013 . greenwood susan 15 july 2011 . the best travel websites ever . the guardian . london guardian news and media limited . retrieved 4 december 2013 . roddick backs responsible travel . the guardian . london guardian news and media limited . 6 april 2001 . retrieved 13 december 2013 . amodeo christian december 2002 . new horizons anita roddick co founder of the body shop is an outspoken and active supporter of responsible travel and sustainable tourism initiatives . geographical . london the royal geographical society . 74 12 . retrieved 4 december 2013 . responsible travel reveals plans to double holiday collection . ttg digital . london ubm information limited . 6 april 2011 . retrieved 4 december 2013 . europe s leading green travel site launches in the us press release . brighton responsibletravel.com . 25 june 2010 . retrieved 4 december 2013 . your ticket to green tourism . the argus . brighton newsquest media group limited . 24 april 2001 . retrieved 20 february 2014 . starmer smith charles 18 april 2009 . green awards . the daily telegraph . london telegraph media group limited . retrieved 4 december 2013 . scott lisa 7 november 2013 . world responsible tourism awards 2013 tui nederland declared winner . the metro . london associated newspapers limited . retrieved 4 december 2013 . south east tourism boost hopes for 1m project . bbc website . london bbc . 14 october 2011 . retrieved 4 december 2013 . get on our land website celebrates the charms of south east england . . . mail online . london associated partners limited . 20 october 2011 . retrieved 4 december 2013 . gray louise 14 october 2011 . kate humble says autumnwatch audience need to be helped to access the countryside . the daily telegraph . london telegraph media group limited . retrieved 4 december 2013 . francis justin 18 august 2014 . elephant tourism why the call of the wild is too loud to ignore . the independent . retrieved 21 august 2014 . payne emily 25 may 2014 . free willy eighty six per cent of tourists no longer want to watch killer whales and dolphins performing tricks in captivity . mail online . associated newspapers ltd. retrieved 21 august 2014 . orphanage volunteering part of the problem . the daily telegraph . london telegraph media group limited . 30 july 2013 . retrieved 5 december 2013 . francis justin 19 october 2013 . something to declare why it s vital that volunteering is done in the right way . the independent . london independent digital news and media limited . retrieved 5 december 2013 . responsibletravel cancels carbon offset program . usa today . washington dc gannett company . 25 november 2009 . retrieved 5 december 2013 . taylor jerome 7 november 2009 . ethical travel company drops carbon offsetting . the independent . london independent digital news and media limited . retrieved 5 december 2013 . datar rajan 31 january 2010 . fast track examines carbon offsetting . bbc news channel . retrieved 5 december 2013 . missing or empty series help big three urged to be green . travel trade gazette . london ubm media . 5 november 2004 . retrieved 5 december 2013 . choat isabel 13 march 2004 . package firms urged to be responsible . the guardian . london guardian news and media limited . retrieved 5 december 2013 . roddick anita 20 september 2005 . your planet travel that doesn t cost the earth . the independent . london independent digital news and media limited . retrieved 5 december 2013 . external links edit responsibletravel.com official website international centre for responsible tourism world responsible tourism awards retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title responsibletravel.com & oldid 734794393 categories sustainable tourismhidden categories pages with citations lacking titlesofficial website different in wikidata and wikipediaarticles created via the article wizard navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what 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