Sadly, we’ve all experienced the consequences of irresponsible tourism. We’ve all been to a beach and found plastic straws or plastic bags on the sand or the sea. I’ve been on beautiful hikes abroad, only to find food wrappers on the trail. We can’t let this go on any longer, if not for our planet’s sake, at least for the cute Instagram pictures. So, here are 5 tips to travel more sustainably in the coming years.
Be unique
So… how is this a sustainability tip? You see, if you go where everyone goes when everyone goes, you put a lot of stress on that ecosystem. Tourism overload is a real thing and governments as well as communities have to find ways to manage it. For instance, Thailand closes some popular cities and destinations during the summer to control the influx of tourists.
To avoid creating tourism overload, travel within low seasons and/or to destinations that are not as popular. You will not only help lighten the load on popular tourism communities, but you will also help the economies of your destinations.
Think about where you’re staying
It’s not about location, location, location! Choosing the right accommodation will help you tackle multiple tourism problems at once. When looking for a place to stay, try considering eco-friendly options. You can look for a net-zero island altogether or it can be as simple as choosing a place that bans single-use plastic.
Eco-friendly options often also mean that they are small companies, and probably locally owned. This can also help ensure that your money stays in the community, empowering them. In addition, thinking twice about where you stay can encourage you to find places that are nearby attractions, allowing you to walk, bike, or use public transit.
Back to basics - Reduce, reuse, recycle!
Yes, we’re going back to the three Rs. To start off, reduce your luggage to the basics! Get used to packing light and packing smart, try to pack clothes that need little maintenance and that best suit your plans and destination. Also, it can’t hurt if they’re clothes than can be easily matched with others to use them more than once!
This brings us to our second R, reuse. Bring a water bottle with you, and avoid buying plastic water bottles. You can even go as far as bringing some bamboo cutlery. And for your last R, if you do end up buying cans or bottles abroad, try to recycle as much as you can when traveling abroad. If you find any trash in the trails, take a bag with you, collect it and throw it in a bin by the end of the day.
We hope that these tips help you travel while keeping our planet safe. Please enjoy your trips next in a responsible manner, as the bad puns say, there’s no planet B. It’s up to us to make the small changes, and little by little, with each of us adjusting one thing, we will have made an impact of a thousand changes.
