Yesterday, the first Austrian company in the tourism industry signed the Commitment to become a member of the "Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism": the Austrian travel association (Österreichischer Reise-Verband, ÖRV) thus acknowledges its responsibility for human rights due diligence.

"We appreciate the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights of the United Nations Human Rights Council and commit to our human rights responsibility and due diligence in tourism," said Josef Peterleithner, president of the ÖRV, upon signing the Commitment of the Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism at the trade visitor's days of the holiday fair (Ferien-Messe) in Vienna. "Human rights are not a new topic in tourism, but it is an issue in which the industry needs to forge a new path. We work for and with people on a daily basis. Therefore, it is in the interest of our clients, business partners and the people living in destination countries as well as in our own interest that our business does not violate human rights."

Respecting human rights – also in tourism
The ÖRV is the first Austrian company in the tourism industry to become a member of the “Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism”, a multi-stakeholder initiative that has been espousing the cause of human rights in tourism since October 2012. Naturefriends International (NFI) is one of the founding members and contact point for Austria. “The Roundtable provides an impetus for companies, organisations and institutions that are committed to respecting human rights in tourism,” said Cathrine Schwenoha, responsible for Sustainable Tourism within NFI. “We are delighted that the ÖRV has publicly committed itself to respecting human rights and we extend a warm welcome to ÖRV as new member of the Roundtable.”

The “Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism” offers: 
Commitment – a public commitment to human rights due diligence
Management Guideline – support in the development and implementation of a business human rights strategy
Online Training – to train executives and specialists on the topic of human rights
Further information and free-of-charge material (German and English):
www.menschenrechte-im-tourismus.net

The following companies and organisations are a member of the “Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism” and have pledged to implement and disseminate the Commitment: 
arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung (akte – Working Group on Tourism and Development, Basle) | a&e erlebnis:reisen (Hamburg) | Bread for the World – Tourism Watch (Berlin) | Deutsches Global Compact Netzwerk (Berlin) | forum anders reisen (Fribourg) | Gebeco (Kiel) | Hamburg Foundation for Business Ethics | Hauser Exkursionen Munich | Internationale Tourismus-Börse ITB (Berlin) | kate – ecology & development (Stuttgart) | Kuoni (Zurich) | Naturefriends International (Vienna) | ONE WORLD (Dortmund) | Schweizer Reise-Verband (Zurich) | Studiosus (Munich) | TourCert (Stuttgart) | viventura (Berlin) | Willy Scharnow-Stiftung für Touristik (Frankfurt)

Naturefriends International is a founding member of the Roundtable.

http://www.humanrights-in-tourism.net

Austrian travel association (Österreichischer Reise-Verband, ÖRV) 

Contact:
Cornelia Kühhas
Naturefriends International, Public relations 
Tel.: +43 (0)1 89 23 877-13
E-mail: cornelia.kuehhas@nf-int.org