They say that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. And there is nothing quite like a global pandemic to make you reflect and understand the importance of all those things you cherish so dearly. In 2020 the world shut down, countries closed their borders, and life as we knew it changed dramatically.
Are you missing that feeling of adventure right now?
But as we slowly and cautiously begin to emerge from the chaos and challenges of 2020, we, as a species, have a once-in-a-generation chance to reassess, reset and restart; and where better to start than with travel?
While the tourism and travel industry accounted for 10.4% of global GDP (US$9.258 billion) in 2019, it was also responsible for nearly 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. Like so many aspects of life as we knew it, post-pandemic travel needs to change—and that change must be sustainable.
How do we start affecting change? By following essential sustainable travel tips.
Why is sustainable tourism important?
The opportunity to re-imagine tourism to become more sustainable would be beneficial on almost every level. For the traveler, experiencing authentic culture and making a positive impact while exploring the world takes advantage of travel’s full transformative powers.
For the host community, income generated from visitors stays within the community and helps develop infrastructure and standards of living, as well as preserve cultural values and traditions.
And for the planet, a more eco-friendly form of travel will actively help preserve and protect mother nature’s treasures for generations to come.
It is a win-win situation for everyone involved, and something that can be achieved with these sustainable and eco-friendly travel tips.
How to travel sustainably
Keep the Earth in mind and travel green on your next adventure!
So what if you could change the world just by changing the way you travel? Well, you can! Here’s how:
1. Book your trip with a sustainable tour operator
One of the best sustainable travel tips is to make sure you’re investing your money in a company (whether you’re studying, volunteering, adventuring, or anything else) that has sustainability at its core—not just surface-level tactics, like offering eco-friendly hotel options.
You can also become a Sustainability Member with Bound International. This organization provides critical sustainable travel tips, instructional videos, country profiles, and an advocacy guide for when you return home. Do study abroad and do it right!
2. Take the bus or train wherever possible
If you must fly, carbon offset your flight with a reliable provider. You can even offset your carbon for bus and train routes! In fact, 67% of travelers claim they’ve purchased carbon offsets at least once when booking plane, bus, or train tickets in the past two years.
There are countless organizations offering carbon offsetting schemes for travelers. However, you should look into which specific projects are supported, and whether these projects are actually sustainable. There’s no point in planting a tree if it gets cut down again a few years later.
Two ethical and certified carbon offsetting companies, which calculate CO2 emissions very accurately, include atmosfair and myclimate.
3. Try to fly with an airline that is investing into biofuels
Sometimes you can’t avoid flying—so if you have to, do it the eco-friendly way.
One of the most essential eco-friendly travel tips is to avoid flying—but that’s not always realistic. Instead, check out airlines like KLM, Lufthansa, and American Airlines, who are actively investing into clean, biofuel technology.
Lufthansa has operated over 1,000 biofuel flights to date between Hamburg and Frankfurt, whilst KLM became the first airline in the world to carry passengers on a commercial biofuel flight from Amsterdam to Paris in 2019.
Biofuels are made up of plant oils, agricultural waste, and wood chips. Using renewable biofuel as opposed to fossil fuels can reduce carbon emissions by up to 80%.
4. Research and be respectful of the local culture
Sustainable travel also means resisting the instinct to impose your own culture or perspectives on the country and society you are visiting; dress modestly, for example, if that’s what the norm is there.
Whilst we are talking about respect, ask locals whether you can take their photos before snapping a shot of them. Not only does this relax them and increase your chances of getting a smile from the person you are photographing, it also shows that you value and respect the person in front of the lens.
5. Bring your own water bottle
It’s time to give up plastic waste, which is exceedingly easy to cut back on. To avoid contributing towards even more plastic waste, one of our favorite eco-friendly travel tips is to invest in a reusable water bottle.
Plastic waste might not be an issue in countries like Germany and Switzerland, but developing countries like Cambodia and Vietnam are truly suffering from uncontrollable plastic garbage in oceans and waterways, and on beaches.
Older students are role models for younger ones, so show them how it’s done—and if someone asks, explain why it's important to reuse, reduce, and recycle.
6. Buy souvenirs at small local stores
Always support local shops when traveling abroad—and while at home too!
One of the easiest sustainable travel tips? When buying gifts for your family and friends, be sure to buy at small local stores to support the local economy. The same goes for eating out. Check whether the restaurants you eat at are run by locals!
Buying local not only provides people with economic opportunities, it also reduces the negative environmental impact of a product. Shipping products outside of the production country causes air and water pollution, so try to support local stores and purchase handmade products whenever possible.
7. Learn a few language basics to interact with the locals
Traveling to Colombia? Download a language app, such as Duolingo, to review the basics; Hello, Goodbye, How are you, and Thank you.
Learning the local language of the destination you are traveling to not only shows respect towards the culture, it will also make it a lot easier for you to get around and interact with locals.
You might even make a new friend or two! Another great aspect of learning a foreign language is that it also encourages stronger listening skills and better memory.
8. Respect wildlife
If you’re headed somewhere with wildlife you’ve never seen before, remain respectful by not getting too close, refrain from feeding wild animals, and use a quiet voice around them. Showing respect is truly one of the most essential sustainable travel tips.
Wildlife is so important to our planet. Each species has its place in the ecosystem and allows us to maintain a healthy ecological balance. However, more and more animals are becoming endangered, so please ensure to respect wildlife, and try to learn about what else you can do regarding this topic whilst traveling.
9. Leave as little trace as possible
Hiking? Make sure to stay on trail. Need to use the bathroom whilst exploring outdoors? Go as far as possible from any water source to avoid the risk of contamination; as a general rule, at least 50 meters from a river or lake. Simple enough, right?
10. Reflect on your experience
The most sustainable travels are those that shape you, and inspire you to make a positive change in the world.
The University of Edinburgh put together a wonderful resource featuring various reflection tools, which you can choose from for this process. Whilst this resource is tailored towards in-school learning, it can most certainly also be applied to learning outside of the classroom.
Our personal favorite toolkit is the four F’s of active reviewing. Reflect on facts, feelings, findings, and the future to ensure a meaningful travel experience.
Get matched with the perfect trip for you—for FREE
Eco-friendly travel tips make for a guilt-free trip abroad!
You can’t ethically travel the globe without making sure you’re taking care of it, too.
You don’t need to be an environmentalist or climate crisis activist to implement these eco-friendly travel tips. Just keep an eye out for tour operators, such as CAS Trips, that think global but act local, and work in cooperation with local NGOs, charities, and social enterprises.
And explore the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) by engaging in positive local impact projects and challenges.
By implementing these sustainable travel tips, you will harness all that incredible excitement and power of travel. So, what are you waiting for? Change the way you travel and support sustainable tourism—it’s that easy!
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CAS Trips create educational travel experiences like no other. Local Creativity, Activity, and Service projects from Bhutan to Berlin inspire students to become global-minded, conscientious young adults by exploring and engaging with real global issues in real life situations.
CAS Trips are committed to economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Each and every CAS Trip participant’s carbon footprint is measured and offset to ensure a 100% carbon neutral travel experience.
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