Justin Francis (entrepreneur)
Justin Francis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 August 1965 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur and environmentalist |
| Known for | CEO and co-founder of responsibletravel.com |
Justin Francis (born 19 August 1965) is an English social entrepreneur and environmentalist.[1][2][3] He is the co-founder and Executive Chair of responsibletravel.com (founded in 2001), one of the world's largest green travel companies, selling holidays from around the world and publishing online travel guides and responsible tourism related content.
Biography
[edit]Justin Francis was born in 1965 in Wimbledon, London, and grew up in Bathford, Somerset. He studied Geophysics at The University of Exeter after which he worked at advertising agency J. Walter Thompson[4] for eight years. He joined The Body Shop as Social and Environmental Agenda Marketing Manager in 1997 and then went on to head up Worldwide Marketing Communications, working closely with Dame Anita Roddick.[5]
Responsible Travel
[edit]Inspired by a nine-month stint camping and travelling around Africa, Francis went back to university in 1999 to study for a Masters in Tourism, Conservation and Sustainable Development at The University of Greenwich. He set up responsibletravel.com in April 2001 with the course professor, Dr. Harold Goodwin. Dame Anita Roddick was a seed investor offering funds as well as advice.[6][7][8]
She told Francis that a business should be “judged by how it treated the weak and the poor.”[7] Francis aimed to take this mantra to tourism.[8] and show that responsible tourism can be commercially successful.[8] Francis says: “I don’t see myself as a traditional business person. I’m an activist using business as a tool to change the world.”[8]
He overturned conventional thinking about travel businesses by creating a business model where travel companies and travellers could talk directly, and booking declarations were made as part of an honesty-based system.[1]
Justin was one of the initial Trustees of British Charity The Travel Foundation.[4] He sits on the Board of travel company, Basecamp Explorer Kenya.[9]
In 2016 The Times named Francis as one of the world's 50 best ‘people to know in travel’.[10]
Activism
[edit]Described by Lucy Siegle, eco writer at The Guardian as ‘the great activist traveller’[2] Francis’ mission is for a more caring travel and tourism industry.[8]
He has described the tourism industry as the “biggest freeloader in the business world”[7] saying, in an interview with The Guardian, that “broadly speaking, tourism globally has been unmanaged and never been taken seriously by government. It’s fun, everybody’s happy, right? But really, tourism is one of the biggest and in some cases most aggressive industries on earth and it is taking governments a very long time to recognise that it needs managing.”[3]
He has campaigned around the issue of overtourism – presenting a documentary on the issues, released in July 2018,[11] the use of captive cetaceans[12] in tourism, the ethics of voluntourism[13] and many other issues associated with responsible tourism, including conservation, wildlife and human rights. He has been outspoken about the ineffective use of carbon offsetting schemes.[14]
In 2004 he founded The Responsible Tourism Awards which responsibletravel.com ran until 2017.
In November 2016, kidney failure and an inability to travel far as a result, gave Francis the inspiration to start the ‘Trip for a Trip’ scheme which would fund day trips for disadvantaged children around the world who lack the opportunity to travel.[2] Justin returned to full health after a successful kidney transplant.
UK Government role and work
[edit]In 2018 he joined the UK Government's Council for Sustainable Business (CSB), which advises The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how businesses can help deliver the aims of the 25 Year Environment Plan.[15] In 2021, in the run up to COP26 he led the CSB's work on nature and biodiversity.
In November 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow, Justin, Liv Garfield and DEFRA with support from Accenture launched the Nature Handbook for Business – a practical resource for working towards a nature positive world aimed at five industry sectors, including tourism.[16] The advice is now available through the Business for Nature coalition.
Since January 2024, Justin has been Chair of ProjectsforNature.com, a digital marketplace connecting nature projects in England with businesses willing to fund them.[17] It was launched at COP28 in Dubai by The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Calder, Simon (6 April 2011). "Justin Francis: I want to be a challenger". The Independent. London: Independent Digital News and Media Limited. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ a b c Siegle, Lucy (29 January 2017). "The eco guide to responsible travel". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ a b Coldwell, Will (16 August 2018). "Wish you weren't here: how the tourist boom – and selfies – are threatening Britain's beauty spots". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Executive Profile". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Travel trends and predictions - a tribute to Justin Francis". LinkedIn. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Roddick backs Responsible Travel". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. 6 April 2001. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ a b c "Interview with Justin Francis on Responsible Travel and Sustainable Tourism". Sustainability Leaders Project. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Exclusive Interview: Justin Francis, CEO of Responsible Travel". Blue and Green Tomorrow. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "About us". Basecamp Explorer. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ Urquhart, Cath (16 September 2006). "50 people to know in travel". The Times. London: Times Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ Martinko, Katherine (19 July 2018). ""Crowded Out: An Overtourism Documentary" (film review)". Treehugger. USA: Narrative Content Group. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ Chapple, James (30 July 2018). "POLL: Is Thomas Cook right to drop SeaWorld and other orca attractions?". TTG. London: TTG Media Limited. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ Francis, Justin (19 October 2013). "Something to declare: Why it's vital that volunteering is done in the right way". The Independent. London: Independent Digital News and Media Limited. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "No more carbon offsetting". The Economist. London: The Economist Newspaper Limited. 15 October 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Council for Sustainable Business".
- ^ Río/Pexels, JoAnna Haugen Published 1 year ago About a 5 minute read Image: Luis del (20 December 2021). "'Get Nature Positive' Responds to Urgent Biodiversity Crisis, Offers Guidance for UK-Based Companies". Sustainable Brands. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Nature recovery to be accelerated as the government delivers on measures to protect land and sea". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 April 2024.