Responsible Travel today announces a staggering 121% increase in bookings for small ship cruises, which it attributes to a growing trend for authentic, local experiences on holidays.

From wildlife voyages in Scotland to floating boutique hotels in the Mediterranean and Antarctic adventures further afield, the online travel company has seen a marked year-on-year increase for small ship cruise holidays in the first quarter of 2017.

Two of the company's 10 most booked holidays in the first quarter of 2017 were small ship cruises around Croatia, reflecting this growing trend.

Boats typically carry from 6 to around 200 passengers and offer the chance to get closer to the culture and local people in a destination with food on board sourced locally and crew often local people. Travellers spend more time exploring local port towns, with key economic benefits for local residents, and cover less miles at sea than they would when travelling on a larger vessel, offering environmental advantages.

Justin Francis, co-founder and CEO of Responsible Travel says,

“We are seeing a polarisation of the tourism industry – on one side a rise in popularity of the 'safe', isolated-from-local-people experiences offered by all-inclusives and large cruise liners and on the other an increase in interest for more adventurous and inspiring travel experiences.

“Small ship cruises are clearly meeting the needs of the latter group. These holidays take the focus away from simply ticking off port after port and instead become a journey into the local heart and soul of a region or country. They allow passengers to get to know each destination intimately, in small groups and without overrunning fragile cultures and places with huge numbers of tourists.”

Powell Ettinger, CEO of Responsible Travel member The Small Cruise Ship Collection says,

“Small ships are generally the best way to visit some destinations, and sometimes the only way.

“From the floating boutique hotels that ply the Adriatic to the expedition ships that visit Spitsbergen, there is a huge choice of destinations and styles, but the key is always that the voyage is more about the destination than the ship.”

Responsible Travel 's collection of small ship cruises can be found at http://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/small-ship-cruising

- Ends - 

Notes to editors:

Interviews are available wth Justin Francis on request 

Contact:

Sarah Faith or Krissy Roe

press@responsibletravel.com

01273 829269

About Responsible Travel

At Responsible Travel we help travellers live their dreams through authentic and life-enriching adventures, ensuring local people and wildlife benefit and being a catalyst for change in the industry.

Responsible Travel is now the world's largest platform for ethical tour providers (with a rigorous screening process in place to ensure each company fits the guidelines to be represented on the site). The company is growing by 22% each year with its profits dependent on an 'Honesty Box' where tour providers voluntarily declare their commission. It is a member of ABTA.

- The holiday collection includes tours from almost 400 small, specialist and ethical tour operators

- The collective operates in 190+ countries

- In 15 years, the company has helped over 100,000 people live their travel dreams, received over 1million holiday enquiries and taken £100m in booking revenue.

Alongside the holidays it markets, Responsible Travel has three other core programmes to drive positive change in the tourism industry:

- Activism – campaigning for more responsible types of tourism worldwide.

- Trip for a Trip - Funding a day trip for a disadvantaged child in a developing country for every holiday booking (where the customer opts in).

- The World Responsible Tourism Awards (founded by us in 2004)  - celebrating and recognising the businesses around the world, big or small, innovating and leading the way in responsible tourism.

CEO Justin Francis has been included in Courvoisiers The Future 500, Thames and Hudsons 60 Innovators Shaping Our Creative Future and taken his place on the Advisory Board of The International Centre for Responsible Tourism.