Today, sustainable travel is not just a trend; rather it has become an integral part, of trip planning, for a lot of travellers. From browsing through the different hotel listings to comparing the flight prices, travellers are today more and more motivated by the idea of keeping their planet safe.
They know and acknowledge that we live on a beautifully spectacular planet, which truly deserves adequate care. It is why travellers are taking small and simple steps to reduce the impact of their travel while supporting the local economies and protecting natural resources.
So, how can you travel sustainably? Here, we have come up with a few tips that could help.
Always eat local food and shop from local artists
Natasha, an assignment help provider with TFTH, says that for her, sustainable traveling means always picking food from a farmer’s market. Well, it truly is a great way to support the local farmers and is also a great way boost to the economy. It is so because shopping from the farmer’s market would mean that the goods have not travelled far and wide to reach you. This goes a long way in keeping the carbon footprint at lower levels.
Always support businesses, which support local sustainability
Before you book yourself any tour, try to find adequate information about it. Firstly, how many people are in the group, if the group is small, it would have a lesser impact? Next, are the locals going to be your guide?
Also, ask how the operator is helping in giving back to the environment without bringing any harm to the ecosystem. Johnny, a finance homework help provider at TAE, says that he visited Amazon last year, and he hired the tour company, which works towards preserving the local community who is the most affected by the deforestation. Irrespective of where you plan to travel, always look for hotels, which either use alternative sources of energy or recycle and compost the waste.
Donate in trusts or NGOs that work towards preserving the historic and natural sites
No, we wouldn’t say leave a few coins every time you visit, rather we would request you to make a significant contribution. For instance, if you are hiking Borneo, you could consider paying more than your park fee. You could also consider hiring for yourself a sustainable tour operator. It will nudge the government to preserve the forest and not exploit it.
You could consider donating to Sustainable Prevention Initiate as it helps poor communities leverage the natural sites responsibly for economic stability and self-reliance to thrive.
Don’t engage in activities, which hamper the community or environment negatively
Because of climate change, there are bunches of ski towns of the European Alps whose economies strictly depend on the winter tourism are now taking refuge in snowmaking machines. The problem with these machines is that they contribute to global warming. Martha, online knowledge and resource accumulator for TrumpLearning and wrote best online python course, says that to do her bit for the Alps, she visited the place in summer instead of winters.
Well, that’s a great decision. You could also rather plan on heading to a ski destination that has all-natural snow. On the other hand, if you like animal attractions, you should stick to those sanctuaries or animal parks, which adhere to high standards.
Pay more if it means a lesser impact
Why not rent an electric or hybrid car for your next trip? If you are taking a cruise vacation, try a smaller ship instead of a bigger one. It is so because the smaller ship would naturally have a smaller carbon footprint, and would let out lesser waste than a bigger one. Usually, this does not cost much but brings in a massive difference in your impact on the environment.
Visit the less touristy places
In some of the most prominent travel destinations around the world, the primary problem is overcrowding and overdevelopment. You should thus opt for alternative destinations. Diana, an online precalculus tutors at FineGrades, says that though she has always wanted to visit Machu Picchu, she made an environmentally conscious decision and rather visited the similar but fairly lesser-known Choquequirao.
Similarly, instead of going to Majorca or Ibiza, you could go to Crete or Sardinia, or any other larger island, which could accommodate more visitors.
Use public transport or a bike instead of hailing a taxi or driving
There are prevalent bike-sharing programs in over 1000 cities around the world. It makes it easier and cheaper for you to explore the different urban destinations. If you visit a new destination on a bike, public transport, or on foot, it reduces the impact and offers an opportunity of interacting with the locals.
Carry your water bottle
There are billions of plastic bottles, which land up in landfills every year. These plastic bottles take more than 1000 years to decompose. Hence, on your next trip, you should carry with you a stainless steel bottle, which is reusable. Of course, you don’t have to drink tap water. You can fill regular water and purify it with water purification tablets or SteriPEN.
Another alternative is locally buying a huge gallon or a large container of water and stacking in your hotel room.
