If the third time’s a charm, then the annual Responsible Tourism Week, taking place online from February 14 to 18, will be even more inspiring than the last two. Billed as an unconventional, online unconference, it is a fun mash-up exploring down-to-earth applications of noble concepts including responsible tourism, the Local Travel Movement and ecotourism with practical and inexpensive Web 2.0 technologies.

What does travelling locally and responsibly mean to you? On Friday 20 August, the WHL Group’s media and communications manager chatted about this and other issues related to Local Travel with Ron Mader of Planeta.com, a global journal of practical ecotourism and an active Local Travel Movement partner. As one of the initiators of the Local Travel Movement, Gelber shared his thoughts about this initiative, which helps rally anyone interested in fostering the idea of ‘local travel.’

Putting responsible tourism into practice, Planeta.com and friends in Oaxaca, Mexico, are hosting the Responsible Tourism Fair (Feria de Turismo Responsable) from 17-30 January 2010.

On Thursday 4 June, four leading global advocates of responsible tourism spoke and listened at a free public webinar (Web-based seminar) about the present and future of their fast-expanding industry. It was the first in a series of regular online gatherings that will tackle the crosscutting issues and universal appeal of responsible tourism as it applies to a broad range of constituencies in all sectors.

On Thursday 4 June at 13:00 GMT, six leading global advocates of responsible tourism spoke and listened at a free public webinar (Web-based seminar) about the present and future of their fast-expanding industry. This inauguration of a regular series of online gatherings also served as a call for future discussion topics and guest speakers.