Communicating Responsible Tourism

Since the latter half of the twentieth century, mass tourism has emerged as one of the most significant global phenomena. Mass tourism often leads to a series of crises: environmental degradation, commodification of culture, and the erosion of community life and social cohesion, among other things. It is precisely in response to such concerns that the concept of responsible tourism has gained prominence. It calls on all stakeholders, including governments, businesses, tourists, and communities, to recognize their responsibilities in the tourism process. This chapter has traced the evolution of responsible tourism communication from its emergence in the wake of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to its contemporary challenges in the post-COVID era. Across three decades, responsibility in tourism has shifted from ideological declaration to practical frameworks, from slogans to persuasive storytelling, and from top-down campaigns to multimodal, participatory communication.