“Whether you are traveling on your own or arranging travels for others—the Earth is your homeland. Give it the care and respect it deserves; learn about its environment and geography; spend time getting to know its people and their art, culture, history, and livelihoods. While you derive pleasure, knowledge, and understanding from your encounters, hold close the importance of preserving these treasures for those who may follow in your footsteps.”

FIRST STEPS making a positive difference

“The golden rule is more and more recognized as the first rule of travel." —Clay Hubbs, Founder of Transitions Abroad Magazine

“I take very seriously the sense of our living these days in a global neighborhood.  nd the first sensible thing to do in such circumstances, as well as one of the most  ewarding things, is to go and meet the neighbors, find out who they are, and what they think and feel. So travel for me is an act of discovery and of responsibility as well as a grand adventure and a constant liberation.” —Pico Iyer, Renowned Travel Writer

The Responsible Travel Handbook will help guide you along the long and winding trail that is responsible travel. This is no solitary journey, and if you wish to be a responsible traveler or a responsible travel provider, there are plenty of allies.

The instruction and guidance we present is intended to support your personal or  organizational effort in researching, selecting, and ultimately participating in or creating a travel experience that most resonates with you and your understanding of traveling responsibly.

Traveling more responsibly is as much about the small, and often very simple,  practical steps you can take—from choosing local guides and staying in locally-owned accommodations to respecting local mores—as it is about one’s mindset to become a  more conscious and conscientious traveler. As one responsible traveler wrote in response to our survey question on what it means to be a responsible traveler: “First, do no harm” (Hippocratic Oath).

Let the contents of this handbook spark your enthusiasm for post-tively contributing  to the wellbeing of others as you discover the world around you. Whether you are traveling on your own or arranging travels for others—the Earth is your homeland.

Give it the care and respect it deserves; learn about its environment and geography; spend time getting to know its people and their art, culture, history, and livelihoods. While you derive pleasure, knowledge, and understanding from your encounters, hold close the importance of preserving these treasures for those who may follow in your footsteps.

To what degree this volume will enhance responsible travel will only be evident  through how you determine to travel following your perusal of its contents. The more inspired you are to integrate the suggested wisdom presented in these pages into your own travel experience, the more valuable will be the role of this handbook. The attitude with which you read it and aim to apply its contents will ultimately be revealed when an inventory of your journeys or those you provide for others is tallied. Let the passion with which you read it become the purpose of your travel.

Download The Responsible Travel Handbook

PDF format, 1.98MB, 94Pages.

RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL HANDBOOK 2006

The Responsible Travel Handbook was prepared for the first-annual Responsible Travel Forum in partnership with The Educational Travel Conference. The Responsible Travel  Forum was made possible by The Educational Travel Community, Travel Learning Connections, Inc., P.O. Box 159, Ronan, MT 59864-0159, 406-745-4800, www.Travelearning.com. We extend special thanks to Mara DelliPriscoli of the Educational Travel Conference.

EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION

Sherry Schwarz, Transitions Abroad Magazine.P.O. Box 745, Bennington, VT 05201, 802-442-4827
www.TransitionsAbroad.com

DESIGN

Nashima Gokani, Transitions Abroad Magazin

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Duncan Beardsley (Generosity in Action) // David Clemmons (VolunTourism.org) // Mara DelliPriscoli (The Educational Travel Conference and Travel Learning Connections, Inc.) // Jim Kane (Culture Xplorers) // Ron Mader (Planeta.com) // Deborah McLaren (Indigenous Tourism Rights International) // Christine Winebrenner (The Educational  Travel Conference and Travel Learning Connections, Inc.)

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