Forms and Examples of Socially, Economically and Environmentally Responsible Tourism

The chapter describes geotourism, ecotourism, community-based tourism, volunteer tourism, and slow tourism as forms of socially, economically and environmentally responsible tourism. For geotourism, as tourism developed mainly in geoparks, it is emphasized that social responsibility is part of their philosophy and activity profile and is part of their evaluation at global and national level. Examples of appropriate geotourism products and the application of the ABC (abiotic, biotic, cultural) interpretive concept are presented. Ecotourism is presented in a form referred to as true ecotourism, or deep ecotourism, and the conditions under which it is socially responsible are described. This is discussed with concrete examples. Community-based tourism is presented in the context of the involvement of Indigenous Peoples and their traditional knowledge. Significant aspects of social responsibility in community-based tourism are presented, and the both importance and development of social capital is presented in this context.