I look around at the motorcycles, the well-dressed children and the minimalist huts and find myself wondering if it’s all an act. Do they head back down the mountain after we’re all asleep? Is this just a well-produced illusion for tourists? Then I notice a woman hanging up laundry and I pass what looks like a bare-bones general store. This definitely is a lived-in – and by all appearances happy – village.

The Aboriginal sacred site of Uluru – also known as Ayers Rock – is one of Australia’s most recognizable natural icons. The time seems right to ponder over a question that has for decades been the subject of a much-heated debate: Should tourists be allowed to climb the rock or not? Respecting indigenous cultures and local traditions is at the core of the responsible tourism concept and it is the center of the controversy over Uluru.

It’s back! And it is expected to be better than ever. The fourth annual Responsible Tourism Week is scheduled to run from February 13 to 19, 2012. Hosted by Planeta.com, it is touted as “a free unconference exploring down-to-earth applications of noble concepts including responsible tourism, conscious travel, the local travel movement and ecotourism with effective and inexpensive social media and local events.”

Global Basecamps, in collaboration with Maasai Wanderings, contributes to a variety of ecotourism and community outreach programs in Tanzania. In 2004, Maasai Wanderings visited a Maasai village called Ilkurot (which means “dusty place”) just north of Arusha, and saw that the schools were in desperate need of supplies and repairs, and there was no nursery school.

I lead the Tiger Trail team in Luang Prabang, Laos. I always had a passion for adventure and travelling but, even more important, for other people. I also believe that the world is not fairly developed and even its most beautiful landscapes can be the stage for poverty and degradation. I aim to approach these problems by seeking a better way: Through our Fair Trek in Laos projects, I combine community work with tourism and bring people together from all over the world to work with Lao communities.