Following the sad announcement from its trustees of Tourism Concern’s closure in late 2018, I offered to explore how Travindy could honour the organisation’s legacy, and ensure that its years of vital research and groundbreaking campaigning continues to influence the travel industry and tourists for years to come.
Having secured trustee agreement, I have now uploaded a large portion of the Tourism Concern website content into Travindy., focusing on those stories, reports and campaigns which I believe continue to be relevant.
Here’s what can now be found on our Tourism Concern Archive.
- All the reports into ethical issues affecting tourism and its impact on local communities, published by the organisation in its 30 year history. These cover a range of issues from Slum Tourism and the welfare of animals in tourism, to the impact of all inclusives, issues around volunteering, and the need for Water Equity.
- A fascinating article written for us by the organisation’s original founder, Alison Stancliffe, telling the story of 30 years campaigning to make tourism responsible, a journey that started long before Responsible Tourism was even a term.
- A series of Ethical Travel Dilemmas, with advice from the organisation on how tourists should act when confronting them. The questions answered range from ‘Should you haggle?’ to ‘Should you use Airbnb?‘
- Several articles from the last five years, mostly focusing on the organisation’s key remit of supporting local communities in their struggles against tourism development; all the online annual reports back to 2006; and back issues of the In Focus magazine.
I hope this archive is of use. If you find something amiss, or believe I have forgotten an essential report, or neglected a key campaign – please let me know and I will do my best to get it uploaded.
Most importantly, although Tourism Concern is no more, Travindy will do what it can to offer a place where people can tell the world when their communities or environment are at risk from reckless tourism developments. If you have a story that needs to be heard, please get in touch.
