Harold is Professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University where he teaches and supervises research, and does some writing and research himself. in the International Centre of Events, Tourism and Hospitality (ICRETH) in the School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality. He is also a Member of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism which he founded in 2002 and which promotes the principles of the Cape Town Declaration.

In the 1990’s much of his research and consultancy was on tourism and conservation, particularly in and around national parks; he directed a major study for DFID on Tourism, Conservation and Sustainable Development at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology 1994-1997, looking at parks in India, Indonesia and Zimbabwe. Consultancy work on tourism development in and around national parks and heritage trails in Slovenia, Albania and Bulgaria followed. His inaugural lecture at Leeds Metropolitan University, Taking Responsibility for Tourism, reveals a good deal about what makes him tick. The comments made in the 'little black book" presented to me at the Party to celebrate 10 years of Responsible Tourism in April 2011 are revealing too.

In 1998 he wrote the first paper on Tourism and Poverty Elimination for DFID, this led on to his work with the Pro-Poor Tourism Partnership and to training, evaluation and consultancy work on tourism, local economic development, and poverty reduction. In The Gambia he led a market access project for informal sector craft workers, guides, fruit sellers and juice pressers which significantly increased their incomes.

Since the mid-90’s Harold has been involved in action research, pursuing the concept of responsible tourism in the UK with tour operators and campaigning organisations like VSO and Tearfund in the UK; and in destinations working with industry, governments, and communities to make tourism more sustainable and to enrich host communities. Harold assisted the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in South Africa to develop practical responsible tourism guidelines.

Harold Goodwin founded the International Centre for Responsible Tourism in 2002 it now has sister organisations in a growing number of countries. Harold is a Visiting Professor in the Welsh Institute for Natural Resources at Bangor University and a Research Fellow in Tourism, Business and Community in the LEaP Research Centre at Lincoln University, New Zealand.

Harold is an advisor to the World Travel Market on World Responsible Tourism Day; chair of the Advisory Panel of the International Tourism Partnership (part of the International Business Leaders Forum) and Chair of the Judges for the annual Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards. He is an Expert Advisor to ABTA, the UK's Travel Association, on Sustainable Tourism and to UNEP's Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism; a member of the IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas and an Advisor to RTreporting. He is Academic Advisor on Travel & Tourism to EQ2 working them to develop an integrated sustainable management system for travel and tourism.

In 2002 Harold co-chaired the first International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations which he co-chaired. The conference was a side event to the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg. Harold drafted the Cape Town Declaration agreed by the conference, this definition is now widely used. He co-chaired the Kerala International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations held at Easter 2008,which produced the Kerala Declaration. In May 2009 he co-chaired the 3rd International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations held in Belize. In October he co-chaired the 4th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations held in Oman. The 5th took place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in June 2011.

He is currently involved in establishing a new Travel Philanthropy charity Travel Pledge and a new campaign, FlySmart, which encourages people to fly less; if they must fly, to fly more carbon efficiently and to make a contribution to making the world a better place through Carbon Philanthropy. Harold has launched a new website, Responsibility which reflects his broader interests in the concepts of responsibility and irresponsibility in the public and private sectors and in the third sector.

Harold has worked as a consultant and researcher for the UN World Tourism Organization, the UK’s DFID, the EU, the World Bank, KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, the International Finance Corporation, the Aga Khan Development Network and the International Trade Centre; and for a host of tour operators including the Association of Independent Tour Operators and the Federation of Tour Operators/ABTA.

Harold is a director of the Responsible Tourism Partnership which works to develop links between UK tour operators and responsible tourism businesses and organisations in destinations. He is non-executive chair of peopleandplaces a new social enterprise company established to provide responsible volunteering experiences.

One of the major challenges for Responsible Tourism is to evolve an alternative to certification, an alternative which enables businesses to transparently record and verifiably report their progress year by year in realising their Responsible Tourism aspirations and to share those achievements with others. RTreporting is being developed by one of our ICRT alumni, Jenefer Bobbin, with a little advice from me. The process is simple but really effective: develop a policy based on local priorities, monitor and report progress year by year and prove that performance with an independent verification.

Harold Goodwin co-founded ResponsibleTravel.com with Justin Francis, although he is no longer a shareholder or director he watches the development of the company with paternal interest and distance. In 2007 he created Irresponsible Tourism.info to provide a space for whistle blowing and debate; and in 2008 he launched a site which provides information about good practices and a forum for sharing good practices and debating best practice. Take a look at the aRTyForum

Harold is one of the Knights of the Ibex Round Table, a member of the Editorial Board of Travel Law Quarterly and an advisor to GreenTravelGuides.tv

A pen sketch from June 2011
"Goodwin, a professor of Responsible Tourism at Leeds Metropolitan University, is a person who cannot be easily missed. He is a stocky teddy-bearish man with a square ruddy face adorned by a salt and pepper beard and fitted with twinkling blue eyes. Yet, he managed to remain nearly invisible right through the two-day symposium, intervening only at critical moments. ''I was here to listen to what you had to say and spread the word to the rest of the world.... ''

R Ayyappan, Express News Service