Harold Goodwin Is the Chairman of the Judging Panel for the Responsible Tourism Awards and Has Been a Key Player in Developing Responsible Tourism Strategies for More Than a Decade

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When did responsible tourism first become an issue for you?

In my previous job, I worked in adult education in central London and was involved in taking groups of students on trips to exotic destinations to experience wildlife and different cultures. I increasingly noticed the slogan 'take only photographs, leave only footprints' and I felt myself becoming more and more concerned about the lack of any payback from visitors to communities. People were leaving nothing behind; making almost no contribution to the local community or wildlife conservation. I eventually moved over and worked in tour operating for a couple of years until the opportunity came to bid for a research grant into ecotourism. We won that …