How To Become a Sustainable Traveler

We can all experience everything our planet has to offer and still having a positive impact on the places we wish to see.

Our planet is our responsibility and we should all do the best we can to maintain, aid and restore it to its full beauty, because if we don't, nobody will. We introduced a few tips on how to live more eco-friendly in the blog "4 Steps Towards Sustainability"; but how does that translate into your travelling experience? How will you be making a difference?

We joined the 100 Million pledge

In collaboration with Sustainable Travel International, we’ve committed to supporting lives and protecting places through travel and tourism through the 100 Million Pledge. Travel is more than a vacation or an adventure, it’s an opportunity to give back to people and places. Join us in making a difference!

We want to support lives and protect places through travel. If you want to be a sustainable traveler too, you should always:

1. Use the most energy-efficient transportation available

2. Be resource efficient and use energy, water, and other resources only when necessary

3. Use reusable materials, so avoid plastic, and recycle whenever possible

4. Share your experience so you can help educate others, and more people will get involved

5. Engage in sustainable programs wherever you go, so you can leave the place cleaner than you found it

6. Not participate in activities that harm the environment, the animals and the local community

7. Remember that you are in someone else's home: they will have to live with whatever you will leave behind

You can see the world without compromising the environment and the local communities!

Economy

Travelling sustainably can save you money while also creating economic benefits to the local population. You can improve the well-being of host communities and working conditions by supporting services that use fair trade principles. Here is how:

• Spend money so that it remains with the local community

• Use services owned by local businesses or members of the community

• If resources are scarce make sure you are as self sufficient as possible

• Be sensitive to fair pricing and do not seek out bargains at the expense of the local producer

• Be satisfied with what the local economy can provide

Culture

Try to travel for the right reasons: not travel to check off destinations or collect stamps, but for a genuine desire to experience the world and meet local people. If you take the time to know the local people in the places you visit, you will cultivate a true desire to respect all cultures and traditions, foster authentic interaction and promote greater understanding. Here is how:

• Remember that everyone is different, not better or worse, so treat everyone with respect and dignity

• Avoid offensive behavior, especially in regard to clothing, traditions and beliefs

• Be humble and do not expect special privileges

• Enter a culture in a spirit of humility, with a desire to understand it before forming an opinion about it

• Choose activities that preserve and celebrate cultural diversity

Karem Ortiz founder of "Travel Hunky Dory" wrote a great article about an eco-friendly spot in Copenhagen. Check it out here.

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We hope you will use some of the above ways to lower your travelling impact, even if you incorporated just one of these steps you would be helping the planet more than you did yesterday!

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