The moment we decide to go on a trip, sustainable travel should be our priority and the only way we travel. Nowadays, many luxury hotels or resorts are built on precious natural areas, so international tourism is far from sustainable. We should be aware that the world has beautiful and natural finite resources that can be easily damaged by mass tourism. Unfortunately, people aren’t aware of how certain types of tourism negatively affect our environment, communities, and local cultures. For that, try to make your future trips more sustainable, and here are some tips on how to achieve that.
Find Proper Accommodation
When you decide to go on a trip, the first thing you do is make a reservation for a hotel, suite, or other place where you’ll sleep and rest. Yet, before you reserve anything, inquire about the conditions certain places offer and how they affect the natural world. To make the proper choice, opt for sustainable stays, which can meet a wide range of your travel requirements. Decide to stay in places that exist in harmony with nature and take care of it in many different ways. Try to recycle all your waste, don’t waste too much water or energy, and take care of the natural world and its laws as much as possible.
Help the Local Community
Wherever you go, try to support and respect local people and their community. It means you should buy from them, contact and hire local guides, and purchase their local products. Also, you should learn the food characteristics of the place you visit and eat as the locals do. As with your stay, spend your tourist money in local cafes and restaurants, eating homemade and local recipes. You’ll see how locals will be enthusiastic and grateful for your visit, so avoid international food chains, where your money doesn’t enter their economy.
Take Care of the Transportation
Depending on where you’re going, try to weigh your options for transportation. If you’re going on a trip with somebody else, use a car, but if you’re going on your own, take the train. Taking the train is often a more sustainable option; it’s comfortable, and it’s less harmful than going by car, bus, or airplane. Also, when you arrive at the desired destination, go on foot or bike if it’s possible. In that way, you can enjoy sightseeing more and, at the same time, protect the environment of the place you are visiting.
Don’t Disturb Wildlife
If you’re planning to go to some exotic destination with diverse wildlife, try to participate in responsible wildlife tours. It means you should avoid unethical or disturbing close encounters with animals because you can seriously violate their natural habitat. You can conclude a lot if an animal tourism activity offers close interaction with the animals, especially if they are endangered species. Therefore, before you go on a trip, do research about the type of wildlife tourism you’re planning, just to make sure it’s responsible and adequate.
Don’t Carry Too Many Things
It’s known that many people wear a lot of unnecessary things, particularly if they go to distant places because they think they’ll wear everything. The opposite situation often happens, so choose a backpack that you can carry around comfortably. So, when you start packing, write down everything you think you need for the trip, and carefully plan what to pack ahead; otherwise, you’ll carry many unnecessary things.
Always look at the weather forecast and cross out the things you won’t wear. Also, pack for the activities you’ll do on your trip, and if you’re a curious traveler, opt for comfortable and lighter clothes. Be aware that you’ll probably find a lot of products you need at the place you’re staying, so don’t exaggerate.
Respect Local Customs
If you decide to visit a place and culture completely different from yours, take note of the local customs, habits, dress code, language, and general behavior. Read and research a lot before you go, and try to find out what to expect and how to behave in a new place. First, if you want to take a photograph, always ask, because some local people don’t like to be photographed or disturbed.
Don’t break any rules, and make sure you don’t purchase anything illegally, as it could cause you serious problems. Show your appreciation and gratitude wherever you go, because local people will always remember that.
Taking all these into consideration, it isn’t so difficult to plan a sustainable trip in a short period of time. What you need to do in the first place is to find a place to your liking, do some research about it, and plan a trip that will not do any harm to the local people or the natural world. Your goal should be to make memories and experiences you’ll remember for a long time and to have a chance to return to the place whenever you want.
