You Can Change The World By Changing How You Travel
Think for a moment about all of your travel experiences, the impact they have had on you and how immensely those countries and its citizens have shaped you.
Now, think about what you have done to give back to those communities.
It’s not a trick, but an honest realization: us travelers take so much and give very little in return. We thrive off of life and, sometimes, we can get greedy.
But, travel doesn’t have to be like this. In fact, you can literally change the world by changing how you travel. It may sound like a radical idea, but I can assure you that it’s not!
The old way of travel is gone— we cannot continue to exhaust resources, trash the planet and exploit lower-income countries. If we are going to continue to travel, we must make a pact to be more sustainable and conscious travelers.
Changing the world through sustainable travel
Sustainable travel is complex. It’s not a destination you reach once you’ve changed a few habits. It’s a journey of mindfulness, humility and education. It’s having consciousness in your behaviors, how you spend your money and upholding respect for cultures.
The three pillars of sustainable travel are environmental, economic and socio-cultural. While there are so many more layers to sustainable travel, understanding your role in these three pillars is an incredibly impactful place to start.
Travel practices for a better world
Sustainability can seem daunting and overwhelming at first, but no effort is too small to make a difference. You can actually make the strongest impact by changing your day-to-day travel decisions.
Start your sustainable travel journey by picking up these conscious practices:
Travel with reusables
It’s imperative that we cut down on single-use plastics. With millions of tons of plastic ending up in the ocean every year, it’s imminent that we switch to reusables.
Bring a reusable water bottle, coffee cup, straw, cutlery, food container, shopping bag and produce bag with you on your travels. Senda Essentials offers travel-specific reusable products that are compact enough to fit in your day pack. By eliminating single-use plastics as much as possible, you are doing your part!
Always spend your money in the local economy
By exclusively buying goods, eating at restaurants, staying at accommodation and booking with tour guides that are all locally owned, you are directly helping the local economy.
In Bali, tourism funds 80 percent of the economy and about 85 percent of it is in the hands of non-Balinese investors. Oftentimes, these investors take their profits back to their home country, which means that the fruits of tourism are being taken out of the hands of locals.
Understanding the negative impacts of tourism is key to becoming a better traveler. You must be conscious about where your money goes, even if that means doing the extra research or asking more questions.
Respect local cultures and customs
Never forget that you are always a guest when traveling. Be sure to follow the customs and norms of the countries you’re visiting and act respectfully. If you want to learn more about a culture, be sure to do so in a way that is controlled by the community and that doesn't exploit indegenous cultures (indegenous cultural commodification).
There is no doubt that tourism has social and cultural effects on communities. Western tourists bring in different customs and override cultural norms. Shops import products to cater to tourists instead of selling locally-made goods. Everything has a chain reaction, so be aware of how your actions and behaviors either support or diminish the local community.
Be mindful of your stay and make an effort to give back
If you’ve decided to call a place “home” for a while and have loved the hell out of it, then give back and do something for the community as it has done for you. Consider volunteering, leading your own beach/park clean ups, or donating to a local organization.
Avoid unethical wildlife tourism
Wildlife tourism generates five times as much profits as the illegal wildlife trade, which has led to huge investments in animal conservation. While animals are still viewed as a commodity and are only valued because of the profits from tourism, saving them this way is far better than losing them to poaching.
Ethical and sustainable wildlife tourism is great; however, elephant rides, caged elephants and dolphin encounters are terrible for the well being of these animals. A general rule of thumb is to avoid any animal captivity enclosures and, of course, always do your research.
Skip the over-tourism hot spots
Over-tourism is responsible for depleting environments, infrastructures and resources. There’s just too many people visiting the same places!
While we all want to see Amsterdam and Machu Picchu, there’s plenty of other incredibly beautiful places that are off the beaten path. Make a commitment to find those. If you must go to a particular over-tourism hotspot, do so on the off-season.
Closing thoughts…
Being a responsible traveler is all about being mindful and acting on your ignorance. If you know seeing caged tigers is harmful, or that Paris is an over-tourism mecca, then you need to act on those hunches. Instead of ignoring what you know to be harmful, stand strong in your values and live accordingly. That is how you can be a better traveler; that is how you can change the world.