How can you enjoy sustainable travel? Are you a good tourist? If you want to be eco-friendly while you travel, these tips are for you.
Sustainability is an all-encompassing word that takes recycling, reducing, and reusing to the next level. In order to be a tourist who shows respect for and promotes the environment you visit, you have to do many things. Being sustainable means you reduce the negative impact of tourism in the area while also maximizing its positive benefits.
Here are some tips to help you enjoy sustainable travel the next time you head out on vacation.
Go where the tourists don’t go
You might want to see the same sights as everyone else, and that’s fine, but that’s also where you’ll find the crowds. Some locations have become too popular, which means they are overrun by tourists and have become hotspots that aren’t as much fun as they used to be. Skip the tourist traps and travel off the beaten path. Instead of visiting the top locations in a foreign country, move down the list to the lesser-known areas and enjoy your visit while respecting the local environment.
Slow down
Unless you can work from a foreign country, you probably only have a limited amount of time to be on vacation. When you slow down and enjoy fewer activities, you’ll be experiencing the benefits of sustainable travel while visiting foreign lands. Instead of several shorter trips, try to take one longer vacation and choose a few places where you can stay a while and learn about the people and the culture of the area. You might become a regular visitor to a special city once you get to know it and its people.
Travel more efficiently
It’s necessary to take a plane to get to some locations, but once you arrive at your destination, you’ll need to consider alternative travel methods that can be much more efficient and eco-friendly. This means taking the bus, train, or cycling instead of renting a car. The bus and train also allow you to enjoy the landscape view without worrying about driving the vehicle. This means you can enjoy the area more and still travel more efficiently, a win-win for you.
Conserve energy and water while on vacation
Sustainable travel habits are important, especially when visiting foreign lands. You should do your best to conserve water and energy by turning off lights and the TV when not in use, turning the hotel AC up a few degrees when you’re not in the room, and choosing a shower instead of a bath. If you don’t need your sheets washed or new, fresh towels every day, you can hang the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door to prevent unnecessary laundering.
Use purchases to offset your carbon footprint
You might want to bring back a few souvenirs for your family and friends, and this gives you a great opportunity to offset your carbon footprint. Purchase items that support local jobs and eco-friendly organizations and help support endangered species. You have to use some energy while on your vacation, but purchasing items that offset your carbon footprint can help.
Help local areas bounce back
Your sustainable travel experience might also benefit the local community you visit. If you are going away from the rest of the tourists during your trip, spend some money where other tourists aren’t spending theirs. This helps keep your purchases local and helps improve the tourism of an area that isn’t visited as often as others. Without your help, many of these unpopular places won’t survive to be around for future tourists.
Avoid single-use plastics
It might not be easy to bring your favorite water bottle or cup with you, but it is important to avoid using single-use water bottles while on your vacation. Every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in the oceans, which is detrimental to marine life. Instead of using single-use plastics, try to find recycling locations and use plastics that can be recycled and used again. This also means reusing plastic bags and choosing paper over plastic whenever possible.
Use these sustainable travel tips and enjoy leaving a positive impact on the places you visit during your vacations.
