Rebecca Tom shares simple guidelines you can follow to make sure you travel responsibly and green.
Written by Rebecca Tom
To travel is to broaden your mind, discover new things and try new experiences. It’s about getting to know the world and its people better. You as an individual benefit hugely from that, and the place you visit gains from the money you bring into the area.
That’s the theory, but in reality tourism can sometimes have a negative effect on the environment and local cultures. By following simple guidelines you can make sure you travel responsibly and make a positive contribution to the people of your destination and the environment.
You can start this before you leave by doing things such as recycling or passing on old travel brochures and stocking up on biodegradable toiletries to take with you, removing all unnecessary packaging.
By using ethical tour operators you can also help. Unfortunately there are no universal guidelines for deciding whether a tour operator is ethical or not and there are many bodies offering certification. Ask your chosen company what they do to conserve the environment and how they improve life for local people. Are they accredited or inspected by anyone? Is the accommodation they use locally owned?
Carbon offsetting to minimise the impact of your air travel is something you can easily do to help conserve natural resources. The amount of carbon used up during your flight will do more damage to the environment than any other aspect of your trip. By calculating the amount of carbon emissions you have contributed to, you can donate a recommended amount of money to a carbon reduction project (such as tree planting) to neutralise your footprint. For more information on this, see Carbonfund.org or Climate Care. For relatively short journeys, consider using other transport such as ferries or trains instead.
If you travel to a country that is poorer than your own, consider bringing gifts that will benefit the local community such as pencils and books for a school. It will go down well with the locals and it’s nice to know you are contributing directly.
On location, make sure to shop responsibly by avoiding products made from protected species such as corals and hardwoods or endangered animals. Buying certain products and importing them can lead to fines and prison sentences in your home country. A list of products banned from importation into the UK can be found on the UK CITES Souvenir Alert website. Also, help the local economy by buying local produce and crafts from local people.
Preferably book excursions that protect and respect indigenous cultures and wildlife. You should be able to find some cultural walking tours or wildlife viewing trips that are of interest. Choose your activities carefully and avoid things such as watching dancing bears and cockfights that are cruel to the animals involved.
Be careful with natural resources as they will be precious to the locals. For example, if you are staying in a village that has limited water, don’t have a long shower every day. Help conserve resources by turning off TV’s, lights, air conditioning and heating when not in use and don’t get your linen changed daily if you can manage without.
Walking or hiring a bike where possible avoids using fuel and enables you to explore the locality better. You’ll find you get to see more of a place if you are moving slower because you have time to notice more of your surroundings. For any travels further afield, consider using public transport.
Don’t drop litter anywhere. Waste disposal is a major expense in poor countries and the facilities for recycling may not be as good either. Re-use bottles and plastic bags and take any used batteries home.
These tips should help point you in the right direction. Responsible tourism is not difficult to achieve and just requires a bit of thought. It promotes understanding and good will and is the best way to ensure that everyone benefits from travel.
Rebecca Tom is from England and loves to travel. Her first trips outside of Europe were to Israel on a school trip and then to Thailand years later with friends. She has since been to Australia, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and The Maldives. Next destination, Morocco.
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like she said – it´s not difficult, we just have to think about every action, at home and when traveling, but when abroad we must be extra careful to respect the local culture and social differences. great post!
Adriana´s last blog ..you can’t live in it, but you can’t live without it
Exactly. There’s lots of things we can do to be more environmentally friendly when we travel and at home. Awareness is the key.
Hey Great post. Really a very nice piece of information. Newbies like me get a good idea about this.I’m going to comment now.I think i did it. Thank you.
Glad to hear you liked it!
Great post! I think we can all benefit from reminders about how we can change our behaviour just a little bit and yet bring about great changes in the world.
Kristen´s last blog ..Taxis from Amsterdam Airport to Amsterdam
Indeed, everyone gains from being reminded of these matters every now and then.
On a related note, I recently read an awesome post on Justin Wright’s blog, ‘Go Green, Save Money’. His many tips can be applied regardless of where in the world you live. Check it out at http://www.lifeofjustin.com/live-green-save-money-3715/
A good reminder of how we should treat the world around us, to keep it looking how we want it. I’ve recently been looking at the problems with flights wrecking Lapland, but that’s the only way to get there. So how should be change our behaviour to keep it pristine.
Thanks again, really insightful.
I didn’t know about the issues in Lapland. That’s really an important question to consider. Thanks for bringing that to our attention.
When we travel, we try to stay in locally owned hotels – especially places with thoughtful owners. I know it may be a small thing in the scheme of making a difference, but we think supporting small, locally owned accommodations instead of large chain hotels makes the world a more interesting, less homogenous place.
Check out our blog post, “Why You should Stay at Independently Owned Hotels” when you get a chance: http://darngooddigs.com/blog/2010/01/why-you-should-stay-at-independently-owned-hotels/
Great post!
Totally agree with you about the benefits of staying in locally owned hotels instead of chain hotels. Thanks for the link to you blog post.
Awesome tips! Especially the one about bringing gifts for the locals. I think volunteering abroad is a great way to travel responsibily. You can to immerse yourself in the local customs and you get to give back for the hospitality you’ve recieved. I personally feel that you learn so much more doing this than hopping from one tourist attraction to another. It feels more genuine.
Yes, mixing volunteering and travel is one of the best learning experiences there is. Going from one tourist attraction to the other without interacting or giving to the locals, to the community, can become a very soulless way of travel.
Love this post! The most people even just aware of traveling greener is the start to change! Thanks for sharing!
Helen´s last blog ..Blast from the Past: My First Trip to Vegas
You’re right. More awareness, more change! Thanks for commenting.