The concept of the “responsible traveler” or “ethical tourism”
is about cultivating respect for other cultures and reducing our
footprint upon the world while traveling. This awareness goes
beyond eco-friendly behaviors to practicing a “global code of
ethics for tourism.” There are many ethical concerns about the
impact of tourists, especially affluent Westerners’, upon
developing countries’ cultures and economies. When thinking of
ethical issues around travel, I have one image permanently burnt
in my memory. In 1999, I witnessed a young western backpacker
giving what she thought was something of value to a local
Indonesian woman –an empty water bottle. The local woman
politely accepts the bottle. The backpacker turns and walks
away. Almost immediately the woman tosses the empty water bottle
into the nearby water ravine and returns to her work without a
pause. That situation could have easily come out of the 1982
movie, Koyaanisqati (“World Out of Balance”). The cultural
misunderstanding and environmental imp