ABSTRACT
The concept of responsible tourism provides an action- and behaviour-oriented perspective of sustainable tourism development. While the sustainable tourism concept has been criticised for its slow implementation, tourism actors’ responsible behaviour and actions are assumed to contribute to the enhancement of sustainable tourism development. Although the relevance of responsible tourism is prevalent in tourism research and practice, its link to sustainable tourism development is not clearly defined. Both theoretical and practical implications can be derived from a discussion of the development of responsible tourism, as well as from its relation to the associated concept of sustainable tourism.
