This paper presents a case study of responsible tourism by observing a group of overland travelers touring Southern Africa in the summer of 2007. The goal of this paper is to provide a general overview of overland travel as a form of responsible tourism and to discuss the complexities involved in responsible tourism packages through an in-depth study of the behaviors and actions of the tourist participants and the tour company. There are no assumptions that the company presented is different or similar to other overland travel companies, or that the group members behaved uniquely. Instead, an inside look at the operations of an overland tourism company may provide the reader with insights into the difficulties of conducting responsible tourism. As a researcher and member of the tour group, the principle method of data collection was participatory observation in the form of complete participant and selective observation. The responsible tourism company (herein called RTC) in this study advertised their commitment to responsible tourism through the adoption of the Tourism Concern Sustainable Practices Policy developed in South Africa. The sustainable actions taken by the tour company to reduce traveler impacts to rural areas was provided to prospective travelers through both written information before the trip and verbal explanations during the trip.

This paper presents a case study of responsible tourism by observing a group of overland travelers touring Southern Africa in the summer of 2007. The goal of this paper is to provide a general overview of overland travel as a form of responsible tourism and to discuss the complexities involved in...