The province of León will become the global epicenter of responsible travel bloggers during the next 7 and 8 April with the celebration of the "1st National Meeting of the Responsible Traveler", an event of great relevance promoted by the Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI, an organism linked to UNESCO through a Memorandum of Understanding and affiliated member of the UNWTO), the Intermundial Foundation and the Provincial Council of León, which will bring together bloggers and influencers of great importance and the most representative specialist voices in the field of responsible tourism.

The Sierra Pambley House Museum will be the venue chosen for the celebration of this meeting that seeks to highlight the leading role that tourists should play as generators of sustainable trends through their choice, recommendation and consumption of sustainable tourism products and experiences. The meeting will address several thematic blocks that will be developed in the form of round tables with the participation of up to 100 travel bloggers who will attend as assistants.

The meeting of Responsible Travelers coincides with the collaboration agreement signed this week between the Responsible Tourism Institute and the Spanish Network for Sustainable Development (REDS, an institution associated with the United Nations to promote sustainable development in Spain) for the development of the tourism sustainability indicators for the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in all UN member countries. Therefore, the conclusions of the meeting will serve as a contribution in the field of the tourists'  within the international Biosphere system, which is the application tool for these indicators. In this way, the actions that a tourist can develop to be responsible will be integrated into the global criteria of sustainable tourism and the contribution of the sector to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations.

The celebration of this two-day meeting is also part of the recent proclamation of León as a sustainable "Biosphere Destination" by the Responsible Tourism Institute. The obtaining of the certification and the celebration of the meeting establish a clear backing and an express recognition to the trajectory of the province, projecting abroad its image as an authentic destination with its own identity and placing focus of world attention on it as a reference of exemplary destinations for sustainable development linked to tourism

The celebration of this meeting, which will also be held in other countries such as Canada or Colombia, represents a clear international leadership for Spain in the development of a tourism industry based on sustainability, not only because of the characteristics of the meeting, but also because its conclusions will serve for the identification of indicators that will be adopted at international level. It should be remembered that Spain already started the debate on the sustainability of tourism in 1995, with the celebration of the historic first Sustainable Tourism Conference, from which emanated the World Charter for Sustainable Tourism.

Among others, we will count with the participation of:

Miquel Silvestre is a traveler, writer and audiovisual producer who has traveled around the world on a motorcycle, visited more than a hundred countries and published eight travel books. He jumped from YouTube to Spanish Television in 2015 with the series Diario de un Nómada and has produced seven seasons in America, Africa, Europe and Asia. Miquel has shown in his works, videos and reports a deep concern for the deterioration of the environment, which he has been able to see for himself in the most diverse places on the planet. These experiencies  have led him to be a Biosphere Ambassador since Diario de un Nómada will be the first television series to obtain the Biosphere sustainable tourism certificate.

Rocio Pastor is a journalist, blogger, youtuber, reporter, photographer, brand manager and social media manager who as WOMANWORD develops by herself its own cross-platform means of communication since 2011 only  working with her own material. With her articles and different sections, WOMANWORD encourages people to be travelers and not tourists clamoring for respect of human, ecological and historical rights through the 100 free of tricks, natural, dynamic and professional experienes of each of the destinations she discovers, making a total of 135 destinations in the past 3 years.

Nacho Dean is the first Spanish and the fifth person in the world to go around the world on foot (less than people who have walked the Moon). This challenge took him to 4 continents, 31 countries and 33,000 kilometers on foot with the objective of documenting the climate change. He is the author of the book Libre y Salvaje, has been nominated for the Prince of Asturias Awards in 2015 and has lectured in several TEDX events and international congresses. Nowadays, he is preparing a new challenge: the Nemo Expedition, which consists of uniting the 5 continents swimming in order to raise awareness of the need of taking care of the oceans.

Sarah Dodd is a lecturer who gives talks in English and Spanish all over the world. Furthermore, she has the goal of visiting all the countries in the world transmitting a message of friendship between countries and cultures. She has currently traveled to 85 countries alone. She supports sustainable tourism in her trips and inspires people with her experiences , immersed in different cultures and connecting with the traditions and practices of the countries she visits. She is passionate about raising awareness of global problems, challenging others to take better care of the land we live on and taking small steps to make the world a little better. Sarah has thousands of followers on social networks, who follow her on her adventure.

Antonio Quinzán has a degree in History from the Complutense University of Madrid and has worked as a professional in the world of travel and tourism for more than 25 years. This traveler and photographer is the owner and editor of www.viajesyfotografia.com, a travel blog designed to offer high-quality information to travelers who are looking for real travel experiences. With more than 60 countries visited, he is a promoter of destinations and has collaborated with entities, companies and Tourism Offices in different countries of the world for years. In 2017, he was named First Biosphere Ambassador by the Responsible Tourism Institute with the task to publicize, promote and foster good practices associated with sustainable tourism.

Rebeca Serna is a Burgos journalist and photographer in love with her land and obsessed with traveling. After working almost a decade in the written press, since 2014 she recounts all her escapades in the blog Viajeros 3.0. One of the most read blogs in Spain, taken care of in detail, and aimed at lovers of road trips, hiking, and nature in its purest form. A great defender of national tourism, her motto is very clear and she does not hesitate to repeat it again and again: "you can enjoy the world in every little corner we have around the corner."

Cristina Spínola is a journalist, sportswoman, television reporter, writer and YouTuber from the Canary Islands. She is the first Spanish woman to go around the world on a bicycle without technical support. She graduated in Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1999. From 1994 to 1998 she worked as a journalist in La Provincia - Diario de Las Palmas. From 1999 to 2009, she was a reporter and host at Antena 3 TV, TVE, and Televisión Canaria.

MochilerosTV.com is an online project formed by Iosu López and Alberto Menéndez, which along with its website, its YouTube channel and its social networks, was born at the end of 2011 with the vocation of being a community and a meeting point for backpackers and low travelers cost.

Marta Goikoetxea is the marketing director and specialist in Online Marketing and digital strategies in the communication and development agency POM. She controls the blog Rojo Cangrejo, having an extensive knowledge of the tourism sector. As a result, she has obtained various awards and appearances in on and offline media such as FITUR, Cadena SER, El País, TEN, Entrepreneur, etc. She is currently a host of the travel TV program Viajeras con B.