Generally speaking, if you love to travel, I think it’s safe to assume that you also love the Earth. Wanting to take in all there is to offer, see all four corners of the globe, and experience wildlife up close and personal, world travelers are eager to push their boundaries.
As travelers, we actively try to embrace the world, which is a positive thing, but the way we go about it might inadvertently do more harm than good. For that reason, we also have a responsibility toward sustainability as we continue to connect with different cultures, people, and places worldwide.
What is sustainability?
Sustainability, especially regarding travel, can mean different things to different people, often referring to many different practices at once.
In this article, we’ll discuss how travelers can adopt better environmentally sustainable practices, embrace new cultures on a deeper level, and go beyond simple sightseeing.
As a traveler, I am deeply passionate about sustainability and social consciousness. However, my journey into responsible travel was not a sudden revelation but a gradual awakening. My love of travel sparked when I was young, having had opportunities to stay in Tanzania for a year at 18 and volunteer in Lesotho, working with an AIDS program, where I encountered firsthand the impact of HIV on the local population.
That whole experience was incredibly impactful, as I was thrust into a community where I could provide some help and also connect on a deeper level than a regular tourist.
I learned the importance of acting as a mindful visitor, eager to travel more and more, especially off the beaten path.
Today, my husband Murray and I work to educate our community about how they can have a positive impact and create a more sustainable world.
To understand how to travel responsibly, we first have to understand that sustainable travel is layered. As we mentioned, it’s an umbrella term that can mean many things at once. To make it easier, I like to break sustainability, and more specifically social-conscious travel, into different categories or pillars. Typically, the three pillars most people are familiar with include:
I like to take it a little further and add a fourth pillar,
When people hear the word sustainability, the first thing that comes to mind is protecting the environment. The travel industry has been working hard to lower its carbon footprint, one, because it’s the right thing to do, and two, to ensure that the industry can stay afloat in the future.
If pristine destinations become too polluted, they won’t be able to survive. Travelers on a personal level can try to minimize their own footprint to make sure that they have a more positive impact on their trips. And it’s okay to start small, taking easy and simple steps to go green, such as:
These may seem small at first but it adds up. We do what we can, and it’ll only get better as the corporate side of the travel industry starts to catch up with their sustainability efforts.
The second and third pillars of socially conscious and sustainable travel might not be as obvious as the first, but they are no less important. Being socially and economically considerate can have a positive impact on a more interpersonal level while traveling.
We travelers are eager to view other cultures, but we might sometimes be too shy to feel comfortable participating. For example, tourists are often a positive source of income for a country; however, they might have even more of an impact than they think. Choosing adventure activities that rely on local guides or smaller businesses ensures that the local communities thrive monetarily, and have more agency over the “touristy aspects” of their own homes.
Being conscious in this way can actually be kind of fun. Learn about the local customs surrounding tipping and bargaining. Haggling with a local vendor in a bazaar will immediately make you feel more like a local. You’ll more likely get a better deal, and you’ll help keep prices down for the locals who live there full-time.
This also helps fight gentrification in the countries that offer Digital Nomad visas for long-term travelers.
Murray and I like to add the final pillar when talking about sustainable travel: ethical consideration. This more often relates to wildlife tourism and other volunteering programs.
We all have seen videos on Instagram of people holding a lion cub on safari or riding an elephant in Thailand. Of course, most of us are aware by now that these activities are not so great for the animals themselves and are best avoided, but there's a lot of greenwashing (and ethics-washing) in the wildlife tourism industry that makes it really difficult to figure out what exactly is ethical. In fact, the research is suggesting now that any hands-on wildlife activity: bathing, feeding, or touching of any kind, is detrimental to the health of the animals, and that the only ethical way to engage in wildlife tourism is by doing it in a "hand-off" setting, i.e. no touching at all
That said, there is a fairly easy solution. With just a little bit of research on our part beforehand, we can find resources that will help us make certain that any wildlife activities offered to tourists are above board. Finding activities that have proper accreditation can allow us to enjoy our trip, while still getting to view truly amazing wildlife, and remain guilt-free.
In many ways, sustainability is about creating balance, and there are balanced ways to be sustainable. Everyone can help create a more sustainable world and equally participate in one way or another. For example, disabled individuals might have to rely on single-use plastics for medical reasons. But they can support and contribute to sustainable efforts in different ways, with their money, time, effort, and attention.
If you feel unable to support every sustainability pillar, focus on the one that you can, and your impact will be no less meaningful.
On a very upbeat and positive note, the future looks brighter and brighter, largely due to our efforts today. The travel and sustainability landscapes are constantly evolving, with corporations relying less and less on fossil fuels and international initiatives like the Climate Accords all working towards reducing carbon emissions.
On a personal level, travelers today are craving more socially conscious, personally authentic, and meaningful types of trips. There has been a noticeable shift towards supporting smaller, more boutique-like hotels and businesses with a specific mission to do less harm. Travelers can still enjoy a sense of luxury while avoiding long-term gentrification.
Additionally, as travelers become smarter and more aware of their impact, animal interactions have been more specialized to minimize damage from tourism. Travelers are using their global networks and spreading more positive information across social media to help teach others how they can help. A prime example is how social media has highlighted the danger coral reefs are in due to pollution, and how those visiting can better interact with the ecosystem to keep it safe.
We’re all human; we make mistakes. If you’ve ridden an elephant, overpaid for a souvenir, or failed to recycle, that doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. The important thing is to remember these pillars in the moment and to try to make the best choice you can. Traveling responsibly, being socially conscious, and building sustainability is not a perfect science. It is ultimately about progress.
It’s a journey we all take to learn, adapt, and respect the planet and its inhabitants. Little by little, our collective actions can have a monumental impact, ensuring that future travelers can enjoy the same type of travel we enjoy today.
Emma Cartwright is a TRT Nature Contributor. During a six-month sabbatical in Africa last year, her passions for sustainability and travel completely collided on social media. She and her husband Murray love to help travelers be more sustainable, no matter what stage of their sustainability journey they’re at. Together, they have worked to build an online community that has helped spread the word about some really important topics, and has allowed other creators to do the same!