Fair trade
Sustainable development
Sustainable tourism
Responsible tourism
Sustainable tourism vs. responsible tourism
Fair tourism
Solidarity tourism
Social tourism
Social economics


Fair trade
Fair trade is an economic activity not solely based on material preoccupations but on respect of the individual's production process. Fair trade is an emerging approach in the sphere of economic exchanges between countries of the North and South hemispheres. Its operation rests on the following keywords: equality, justice, responsibility and solidarity; in short, a commercial relationship based on the non-exploitation and the respect of the other.


Sustainable development
Sustainable development is defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development as a type of development that meets the present needs without endangering the capacity of future generations to meet their own needs.


Sustainable tourism
This is sustainable development applied to tourism. By adapting the definition of sustainable development to tourism, we ensure environmental protection, respect of local cultures as well as a fair allocation of economic benefits. It must be made clear that sustainable is not a real form of tourism, such as ecotourism (with which it is often confused), farmhouse holidays, etc., but rather a philosophy, an idea of development of tourism.


Responsible tourism
Similarly, responsible tourism is not a form of tourism but rather a way to experience tourism, in more or less all its manifestations.


Sustainable tourism vs. responsible tourism
The same principles govern sustainable and responsible tourism, except that the former is aimed at tourism developers and promoters, i.e.: professionals and workers in that industry. As for responsible tourism, it is rather the business of the tourist, the traveler, or the visitor.


Fair tourism
Taking up in a more specific way one of the principles of sustainable tourism, fair tourism is more focused on the dimension of economic benefits in tourism. One of the goals of sustainable tourism is to support fairer relations between all economic actors (visitors, producers, hosts). This supposes a fair sharing of the profits, in order that tourism really fosters the social and economic cohesion between the peoples and the regions. The actors also contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the local populations by promoting the hiring of local personnel, and a fair redistribution of the income, especially for the disadvantaged groups.


Solidarity tourism
Synonym of sustainable tourism, this term is used in France.

Social tourism
This form of tourism, especially common in Europe, is supported by a vast worldwide movement of associations united under the banner of the BITS (International Bureau of Social Tourism.) Essentially focused on access to vacations for working and lower classes, social tourism is often associated with organized labor, the cooperative movement and youth travel.


Social economics
This concept, according to Chantier de l'économie sociale, combines two terms that are sometimes contrasted: "economy" means the concrete production of goods and services, with the enterprise as a form of organization and contributing to a net increase of the collective wealth. "Social" refers to social, and not purely economic, profitability of these activities. This profitability is assessed by the contribution to democratic development, by the support of an active citizenship, by the promotion of values and individual and collective empowerment initiatives. Social profitability thus contributes to the improvement of the quality of life and the welfare of the population, especially through the supply of a greater number of services. As with the traditional private and public sectors, this profitability may also be evaluated according to the number of jobs created.

Sources of the definitions
Normand Hall, teacher at Collège Mérici, and Chantier de l'économie sociale website