The travel industry lags behind other sectors in promoting inclusivity, necessitating urgent efforts to broaden offerings and take decision action. Inclusive travel guarantees a welcoming experience for all, promoting a sense of belonging and encouraging individuals to embrace novel experiences.

Judges are looking for businesses proactively dedicated to embedding inclusion in the future of tourism. Here is an indicative list:

• Companies that cater specifically to an underrepresented demographic(s) and consider the traveller’s experience at every stage – so they know what to expect, feel comfortable and where they can prevent conscious or unconscious discrimination.
• Businesses and destinations that offer experiences of particular interest to demographics often excluded or whose interests are ignored.
• Those who have made meaningful changes in their business by amending or tailoring their services to ensure it is available for all.
• Companies with progressive internal practices around diversity and inclusion ensure voices are represented by a broad demographic of people. 

Some forms of tourism build relationships between visitors and communities through the experiences they provide, treating visitors as "temporary residents"; they generate repeat 'guests' who will return many times, some yearly. Storytelling plays a role in creating meaningful connections. These benefit both the host and the guest. Where the local community is empowered in shaping the tourism offer, they will, as hosts, encounter tourists who value their place and what it offers. The guests have a great holiday, recommend the place to their friends and relatives and are likely to return.

Sense of place contributes to the tourist experience. Local tastes of food and beverages, soft furnishings, and art and craft souvenirs enrich the visitor experience and the local community by creating additional livelihood opportunities. These are complementary products that grow the local tourism economy. The livelihood benefits of tourism for local communities are greater when tourism businesses, tour operators, guides, accommodation providers, restaurants, cafes, bars and tourism authorities and local governments encourage the development of local craft and food production for visitors.

Each year the impact of climate change becomes more evident and, for many, more extreme. Drought, floods, wildfires, and extreme weather conditions cause devastation for communities and businesses in destinations on all continents. The judges are looking for examples of initiatives which

• reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport, accommodation, attractions and tourism services in destinations, and
• Increase the resilience of tourism businesses and destinations in the face of climate change.

The Responsible Tourism Awards aspire to recognise businesses and destinations addressing climate change and to encourage others to adapt and adopt similar initiatives. We must increase our resilience to live with climate change and reduce emissions to avoid making it worse for our children.

Tourism relies on diversity. We travel to experience other peoples' places, climates, built heritage, lived culture and the world's diverse nature. But how diverse and inclusive is our industry?

The judges are looking for examples of inclusive tourism, in employment and in the experiences offered to tourists. The judges are seeking to recognise

• tourism businesses that avoid gender, ethnic and LGBTQ+ discrimination and which employ the differently abled; and
• businesses and destinations which have created safe and meaningful visitor experiences for women, the differently abled, LGBTQ+  and travellers from the diaspora, making accessible to all our cultural diversity.
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Wildlife and the natural environment are important motivations for travel. Nature is essential to our industry, those who transport travellers to wildlife destinations, those who provide accommodation, and the tour operators and guides who market it and make it accessible. The judges are seeking examples of tourism businesses and destinations that reduce negative impacts and positively impact the maintenance of the natural environment and biodiversity.