Gustavo Pinto, a Brazilian graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University’s Responsible Tourism Masters course and director of specialist agency Inverted America Travel, has been integral to setting up the group.

“Brazil has not necessarily been good at promoting itself as a responsible tourism destination; we want to show the market we have incredibly special products,” he said.

Founding members include Tropical Tree Climbing, which offers stays in a “five-million star hotel” – sleeping in a suspended canvas hammock 40 metres high in the treetops – and Vivejar, which focuses on female empowerment by taking travellers to stay with women who make traditional pottery.

Uakari Lodge, a floating research centre set up by the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Amazon and recognised for its efforts to alleviate poverty in WTM’s Responsible Travel Awards in 2015, is another member.

“Although the Muda collective is new, these tourism businesses have long experience, and we know them well,” said Lilas Nascimento, Embratur’s UK manager. “They might not have called what they were doing ‘responsible tourism’ but now it has a name.”

Pinto added: “We’ve had fantastic response from the federal governments, from the public, and from the market, so we are very confident we are on the right path. Now we need to prepare ourselves to grow in the right way.”