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Harold Goodwin, a key figure behind the Responsible Tourism movement, believes Manchester is one of the most sustainable places to visit. “Manchester is an extraordinary city in the sense that it has remarkable rail connections all round England and the UK,” he says. “The other striking thing about Manchester is how walk-able it is. Why would you bring a car to the city as a visitor? It seems to me that there’s everything to play for in Manchester, for the city being a very sustainable tourism destination.”

Manchester is well suited then to host the 8th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations (RTD8), taking place from 3-5 April. Speakers and delegates at RTD8 will exchange knowledge and best practice surrounding Responsible Tourism. The movement aims to make tourism more sustainable, increase local economic benefits, and reduce negative social and environmental impacts.

The conference began as a side event to the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, and has gone on to hold debates in Kerala, Belize, Oman, Alberta, São Paulo and most recently Barcelona.

Goodwin co-chaired the first RTD congress in 2002, and consequently drafted the Cape Town Declaration {responsibletourismpartnership.org/CapeTown.html}, which defines Responsible Tourism and sets out its goals. As well as being professor of Responsible Tourism at Manchester Metropolitan University, Goodwin also founded the International Centre for Responsible Tourism.

“I’m going to talk about why I think the ethic of responsibility is the only way we’ll ever achieve sustainability. I’ll be talking about the shape of the future.”

Goodwin will deliver the RTD8 inaugural lecture, Taking Responsibility for Tourism, on 3 April at MMU. “It’s going to be about establishing a cross-universities approach to changing the way tourism works in Britain and around the world,” he explains. “I’m going to talk about why I think the ethic of responsibility is the only way we’ll ever achieve sustainability. I’ll be talking about the shape of the future.”

RTD8 is split over three days. The first, taking place at The Monastery in Gorton, will see organisers partner with VisitEngland to address the challenges of tourism development and destination management.

VisitEngland CEO James Berresford will deliver a keynote on the future for destination management; while Caroline Brown, commercial director of Shearings Holidays, will discuss why UK destinations matter to ABTA agents and tour operators.

Meanwhile, Justin Francis, managing director of Responsibletravel.com; Helena Egan, head of destination marketing sales for Tripadvisor; and Nicholas Hall of Digital Tourism Think Tank, will debate the rise of online travel agents and how to ensure that local communities have their say.

MMU’s Dr Timothy Jung will speak on Google Glass and augmented reality, and their potential opportunities for tourism; while Anna Doran, national sales manager for Virgin Trains, will address the contribution of rail to tourism in England.

The second day of RTD8 will explore carbon pollution and climate change; local economic development; human rights and social inclusion. The format for the discussion is in three stages: firstly, an agreement on a specific problem; a consensus on the solution; and thirdly ensuring that enough people take responsibility in order to both achieve change and measure progress.

“For the first time we’ll have people who have worked on issues of carbon, local economic development, human rights and social inclusion on the same panels, talking about how they’ve raised their issues, how they’ve reached agreement and how they’ve measured and reported progress,” says Goodwin. “These are people who don’t normally talk to each other, so the potential for learning is significant. I don’t know how that chemistry will play out, but it will be interesting. It could get quite sparky – I hope it does!”

“These are people who don’t normally talk to each other, so the potential for learning is significant. I don’t know how that chemistry will play out, but it will be interesting. It could get quite sparky – I hope it does!”

“The second day is really about learning everything we can in how to successfully make changes towards sustainability across the triple bottom line of environment, economic and socio-cultural,” adds Goodwin. “I hope that out of that will come some ‘lessons learned’ briefing papers to reinvigorate people’s efforts to make change.”

The third and final day of RTD8 will focus on networking and setting the agenda for the future of the Responsible Tourism movement. Activists have been proposing topics for debate – so far they include community-based tourism development in the Brecon Beacons National Park; the consequences of outsourcing for labour conditions in travel; and alternative and appropriate technology for the tourism industry.

The majority of delegates will be British, with additional participants from Honduras, Pakistan and Canada. They fall roughly into three categories, says Goodwin: public sector workers who are involved in managing destinations and tourism; professionals involved in outbound tourism; and those on the periphery of the industry, but where tourism is key – for instance conservationists and media representatives. “What they all share in common is an interest in how tourism can be made more sustainable,” Goodwin adds.

Goodwin was keen to hold RTD8 in Manchester, where he established MMU’s Centre for Responsible Tourism in December, and which is currently launching a new masters degree in responsible tourism.

“The city has had a lot of success with green businesses making their environmental pledges, so the conference will be an opportunity to reflect on that,” Goodwin says. “I’d also like to encourage participation from Manchester: A Certain Future.”

And as part of the conference’s engagement with its host city, Goodwin has arranged a guided tour of Manchester. Participants will meet outside The Palace Hotel on 4 April and join Discover Manchester Tours for an evening walk around the city centre. “We wanted to lay on a taste of Manchester,” he says.