‘Local travel’ describes what many independent travellers have known for years – get off the beaten track, choose local, choose small and invariably you will choose well. But will the new ‘Local Travel’ Movement survive and prosper?

The concept of ethically responsible travel (deeply interwoven with local travel) has been around for many years now. Yet it is clouded in myth, misinterpretation, misunderstanding and tarnished reputations. It has failed to go mainstream in anywhere near the same way as fair-trade tea and organic bananas have done in our local supermarkets. It seems responsible travel means different things to different people and is misunderstood by most. The problem has been partly caused by the media who over-simplify the issue, partly by companies who piggy back the movement without proper attention to standards and in the main due to a lack of international kite-marks by which consumers can easily judge operations.

As a result we have a situation where companies throw around terms like eco tours and ecolodge and community tourism initiative without ever being held up to real scrutiny – A lot is very much for show (including the hastily typed responsible travel policy). So as consumers, instead of being able to rely confidently on labels such as organic or fair trade, we have to to consider our own choices and make our own minds up, for instance:

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