Interview with Justin Francis, CEO of responsibletravel.com

justin-francis“one of the biggest issues in tourism is that it’s the biggest freeloader in the business world”
Justin Francis

Sustainability Leaders interviews Justin Francis, responsible travel entrepreneur and founder of the World Responsible Tourism Awards, to discuss his take on the growth of responsible tourism and why he think tourism is “the biggest freeloader in the world”. Here are some key points from the interview…

 In Brief 

“Sometimes sustainability and business growth can go hand in hand, but not always, certainly not for tourism involving an international flight. Sustainability, by its technical definition, cannot be applied in this case.”

“The priorities in sustainability are whatever local people in tourist destinations think they are. My view – or that of any other commentator – does not matter as much as theirs.”

“I think one of the biggest issues in tourism is that it’s the biggest freeloader in the business world. By that I mean that generally a business has to pay for the natural and human capital it utilizes in making a product, before it’s shipped to a customer. In tourism, that customer travels to the product, and the product is the culture and environments of local people. Too often the tourist or tourism services pay nothing for this.”

 In Depth  

Read the entire interview on Sustainability Leaders

Follow Justin Francis on Twitter

See Responsible Travel’s pioneering new guide to Accessible Tourism holidays

 In the Future 

Jeremy Smith
Jeremy Smithhttp://www.jmcsmith.com
Jeremy Smith is the editor and co-founder of Travindy. He is a writer and communications consultant working for a more responsible and sustainable tourism industry. He is the author of two books, writes a fortnightly blog on responsible tourism for World Travel Market, and provides consultancy to a wide range of companies and organisations, ranging from National Parks to individual hotels and tour operators.

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