7 Benefits of Sustainable Tourism and How to Travel Conscientiously.
With green tourism on the rise, we’re sure you’ve heard of sustainable travel! It’s always enjoyable to travel, but there’s unfortunately a chance that it can cause harm to some environments and the places you’re visiting. Although many travellers have good intentions when they travel, not all make well-informed decisions based on their destination’s best interests.
To travel more responsibly, let’s have a look at the benefits of eco-tourism and how to make a difference. We’ll chat about what sustainable tourism is, its benefits to you, local communities, and the environment, so you can make an informed decision about your next trip!
‘…how to make a difference…’
What is sustainable tourism?
Sustainable tourism is to travel with the purpose of building a positive impact on the environment, society, and economy. It involves minimizing negative impact on the places you visit, and rewarding the overall development and conservation of travel destinations by protecting the environment and the prosperity of the people who depend on it.
‘…protecting the environment…‘
Is tourism actually sustainable?
There are many ways to travel responsibly, however tourism will never be completely sustainable. Every industry has its own impact, and tourism isn’t different. As a traveller, you can help make the tourism industry shift towards sustainability, mindful choices ensure environment and local communities can flourish. Whether you’re planning a trip to South Africa, England, or Thailand, there’s many ways to make your travel more sustainable. By practicing eco-friendly, responsible travel and understanding the benefits of sustainable tourism, you can help leave a positive impact. Green tourism has an impact on the places you visit, let’s take a look at some of the amazing benefits of ecotourism.
‘…many ways to make travel more sustainable…’
1. Ecotourism has a lower ecological impact
Everything you do while on vacation has an impact on your ecological footprint; how you get there, where you stay, what activities you do, and what you eat. The goal of green tourism is to minimize this. To travel is to relax, but there’s lots of easy ways to protect the environment during a trip. Simply eating local produce and food from a local business already makes a huge difference. Imported food, whether across the nation or the ocean, comes at a huge cost – economically and environmentally. Plus, part of the experience of traveling to new places is learning about the culture through food! Not only does local food allow you to save a lot of emission, it also introduces you to new flavours you might end up falling in love with.
‘…eating local produce makes a hige difference …’
2. Ecotourism allows wildlife to stay wild
Preserving wildlife is a major part of responsible tourism. In many destinations, animals are used to attract tourists, but are not necessarily treated well. While riding elephants or swimming with pink dolphins, it’s not always good for the animals. Elephants suffer from pain and early deaths, dolphins are attracted by frozen fish supplied by tourism providers, and then tourists ride, restrain and even lift them out of the water. All of this is done for tourist’s to have a photo opportunity. If the demand for this kind of entertainment diminishes, wildlife is able to stay wild and it will empower local communities to work in sustainable travel jobs, protect wildlife, and engage in green tourism, rather than resort to exploitation.
‘…wildlife is able to stay wild…’
3. Responsible Tourism Keeps the Environsment Clean
While relaxing at resorts, some travellers neglect keeping the environment clean, this can lead to excessive waste, from plastic pollution on beaches to high demand on energy in hotels. Green tourism starts at home, ask your travel agent about red flags like garbage or wastewater when researching accommodation. Ask about single-use plastic shampoo, conditioner, and bath gel bottles or the plastic laundry bags for washing guests’ clothes and linen. Ask them about waste reduction, are their bathrooms and kitchens equipped with refillable containers? Do they have recycling bins or a compost for food waste? Are they using low-flow showers or water-efficient appliances? Is there a system set up for conserving energy? Opt for sustainable travel destinations, rather than overcrowded places suffering from the negative impact of mass tourism.
‘… opt for sustainable travel destinations…’
4. Ecotourism Supports and Empowers Local Communities
By supporting local communities, you get a unique chance to immerse yourself in local culture. Staying in locally owned accommodation gives you the opportunity to directly stimulate the local economy and connect with locals on a personal level.
You also get a similar experience with reputable local tour operators. The money you spend employs locals in sustainable travel jobs, and goes to the pockets of people involved in making your holiday memorable. Eating in local restaurants guarantees your food is healthy, fresh, and reasonably priced, because ingredients are grown or bought locally. Shopping local products and souvenirs allows you to buy items you might not find anywhere else, and your money goes to local artisans.
‘…unique chance to immerse yourself in local culture…’
5. Ecotourism Preserves Cultural Heritage
When done responsibly, tourism can provide insightful and educational experiences to visitors and encourage locals to share their cultural heritage. This once-in-a-lifetime experience you can only gain from trips focused on the rich cultural tapestries of the places that you visit. Locals will embrace their heritage and view it as something to be proud of and worth preserving, enabling them to develop sustainable travel destinations.
‘…once-in-a-lifetime experience…’
6. Ecotourism gives you a more meaningful experience
If you choose to stay with the nomadic Bedouins on a trip, you’ll get a glimpse of the traditional desert-dweller lifestyle. You’ll have a chance to see where they live, listen to their music and poetry, and experience their amazing hospitality.
Engaging in green tourism broadens your horizons and allows you to walk away with not just an impression of the beauty of the places you visit but also a deeper and more meaningful connection with the communities you meet.
‘…deeper and more meaningful connection…’
7. Ecotourism makes you a more conscious traveller
One of the biggest benefits of sustainable tourism is becoming more responsible with your choices. That can mean choosing greener transportation to get to your destination and/or staying in eco-conscious accommodations.
You may even find out there are locations you shouldn’t visit, if you want to keep them sustainable. Some tiny islands can’t sustain many tourists, and some communities are not able to deal with a huge number of people due to infrastructure.
‘…tiny islands can’t sustain many tourists…’
Do what you can, and be proud of it
Sustainable tourism is not always black and white – there are many shades of grey in between. Likewise, there is no such thing as being 100% sustainable when you travel. That’s why it’s good to keep in mind not to aim for perfection. Rather, do what you can to travel responsibly. Remember that cumulative choices from members of the travel community are what pave the way towards responsible tourism. Together, we can definitely make travel more sustainable!
‘…do what you can to travel responsibly…’
Tell us, in the comments what you think about practicing mindfulness during journeys!
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