Learn how sustainable and responsible tourism helps the bottom line from a panel of industry experts

Read more about: businesses, conferences, economy, Europe, London, responsible tourism, responsibletravel.com, sustainable tourism

These days, organizations as well as individuals from virtually every industry are- or should be – looking for ways to reduce spending while ethically promoting global sustainability. Unfortunately, typical public perception dictates that the two factors do not often go hand in hand.

This November, World Travel Market is holding a one-day conference to educate the public on how sustainable, responsible tourism can actually benefit the global economy. The event, titled “The Business Case for Responsible Tourism,” will be held on Thursday, November 12th at ExCeL London, bringing together some of the world’s most respected and experienced responsible tourism specialists.

Among other things, the conference plans to address the contributions which responsible tourism makes to maintenance of brand value, developing investor relations and securing investment and the carbon reduction agenda.

“Many businesses are working towards incorporating sustainability into the core of their products,” said Professor Harold Goodwin, director of the International Center for Responsible Tourism at Leeds Metropolitan University. “Quite often these products are the result of a well-thought sustainability concept, and yet the entrepreneurs behind it fail to reach the marketplace, because they lack marketing expertise and knowledge of the tourism industry’s distribution channels.

“Tourism companies, particularly small firms from developing countries, suffer from poor targeting, market segmentation and positioning, low consumer product knowledge, and consumer risk perception,” he continued.  “However, I am pleased to say that many successful companies, large and small, are clearly demonstrating that responsible tourism can and is an important part of a successful sales and marketing strategy.”

Professor Goodwin is also an advisor to World Travel Market.

“This conference tackles responsible tourism in quite a different manner,” said Fiona Jeffery, World Travel Market’s chairman and a pioneer of responsible tourism over the past 16 years. “Its remit is particularly relevant in these challenging economic times.”

On hand to speak and present at the conference are a number of leaders in the responsible travel mareket, including:

• Justin Francis, managing director and co-founder of responsibletravel.com. Francis will be demonstrating how ethical travel businesses can also be profitable.
• Catherine Mack, national journalist on responsible tourism. Mack is planning a talk on how a sustainability reputation adds value to brands and attracts growing media interest.
• Gregg Anderson, Tourism New Zealand’s regional manager for UK and Europe. Anderson will outline how the role of sustainable tourism boosted the highly-respected and acclaimed “100 Percent Pure New Zealand” marketing strategy.
• Dr. Xavier Font, director of studies at the International Center for Responsible Tourism, Leeds Metropolitan University UK. Dr. Font will be speaking on about web marketing. He is currently completing research for the International Finance Corporation on World Hotel Link, proactively seeking out, listing, and promoting accommodation and other services, which support sustainable objectives.

For more information, visit www.wtmlondon.com.

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