Chapter 2 The Business of Responsible Tourism

Abstract

Tourism is about travel, the experiences that travel offers of other people and their places, but fundamentally it is business. It is primarily through business, not only but primarily, that communities benefit from tourism. Some travellers will protest that they are not tourists, that they don’t use travel agents and tour operators – but they do use the same tourism services as holidaymakers: aircraft, buses, trains and taxis, and generally they pay for accommodation whether camping, staying in a B&B or booking through Airbnb – they recognise their heritage in the company name.