The conference was hold at the WTM in London as an initiative of the trade faire itself with the support of the World Tourism Organisation, and that of the few participants that attended, because the price was not really encouraging...

The subjects approached were not quite new: sustainability, social responsibility, respect for the effects on the visited communities and different initiatives related to them. But on the latter years, all these issues have become more urgent, because now it is the customer who is asking for them. Governmental efforts in order to increase the consciousness on green and social aspects affect nowadays the demands and expectations of travelers.

As it has been said during the conference, British travelers, one of the most important outgoing markets, are now increasingly aware of the importance that the impact of their holidays have on the local communities, both social and environmental, and expect tour operators to face their responsibility for it. Therefore, the social and environmental awareness these companies show, becomes a competitive advantage. It has been an interesting working session where different initiatives have been presented from around the world, as well as data collected by private companies (tour operators and hotels) on this subject. There was only one major absence: I missed any representatives of any local communities from the most or less developed countries presenting their own opinion and efforts on the subject.