Photos of breathtaking cliff edges, boiling geysers and scaling structures may make for stunning Instagram content; however, irresponsible tourists often put themselves at risk by failing to adhere to local laws, customs and religious beliefs when traveling abroad. Respect should always be honored upon arriving. One of the key rules of responsible tourism is disposing of trash where it belongs – including taking steps such as recycling whenever possible!
Do your research
Responsible travel begins with proper research. Before making your plans and booking a flight or accommodation, take the time to learn more about your destination’s culture – learn its history and language as well as ways to interact with locals in a respectful way.
This is especially important in destinations that have experienced colonization or oppression in their past, making it more challenging for visitors to understand where their actions could have an effect. Although it can be challenging, it’s essential that we all try and recognize where our behavior impacts on locals in such destinations.
Responsible travel means knowing which activities to avoid. While wildlife encounters are an attractive part of any trip, upon closer examination these tours often involve exploitative practices such as riding elephants or swimming with sea turtles which could harm either animal or its environment.
Doing your research when choosing volunteer tourism opportunities is key. While not all trips are bad, it is wise to conduct due diligence on any tour company and volunteer organization before giving of your time. As Vicky Smith from Earth Changers noted, orphanage tourism may actually be detrimental as its children often become trafficked or end up on the street with psycho-social problems.
At the same time, it is essential to remember that even small actions can have an enormous effect. For instance, leaving trash behind when traveling abroad can have serious repercussions; not only is it wasteful of space but it may give off an impression that you do not respect either the environment or its residents.
One last way of being a responsible tourist is making an effort to conserve and recycle water when possible. Since clean drinking water can be scarce in certain countries, taking shorter showers or only using the sink when necessary to rinse dishes off is an effective way of contributing.
Go off the beaten path
Being a responsible tourist involves taking steps to avoid exploiting people, animals, and the environment while at the same time pushing yourself outside your comfort zone and doing things that excite you about travel – this might include exploring lesser-known towns or villages over popular attractions in your destination; staying in hotels that support local businesses instead of chain hotels; or engaging in an adventure activity that challenges you to discover its wilder corners.
Responsible tourism means understanding as much about the culture of your destination. This includes learning more about its history, food traditions and cultural norms – even religion(s) can play a part in shaping their society! It’s also essential to study their religion(s), which may influence this aspect of culture.
One great way to do this is by speaking to locals. They’ll offer an insider perspective on their culture, recommending experiences you might otherwise never find on your own and knowing some off-beat locations that help avoid overcrowded areas.
As part of your travel research, it’s also crucial to take into account its environmental impacts. Utilizing a reusable water bottle with a portable filter like SteriPen or LifeStraw is one simple way to reduce plastic waste; using these instead of straws also helps decrease ocean pollution significantly.
Consider what language and expression you use when posting to social media or speaking about travel plans with others. Unwittingly perpetuating stereotypes or using demeaning phrases when discussing certain regions or cultures is easily done; so take time to carefully consider how your travel presentation reaches others.
Support local businesses
If you want to support responsible tourism, one way of supporting local businesses is shopping locally – such as small shops, restaurants and accommodation options. Volunteering could also help in some way; marketing assistance, setting up online stores/delivery services/logistical support could all make an impactful contribution and bring locals and their business life closer together. It’s an amazing way of meeting more locals while learning how they run their enterprise!
Shop and wear merchandise sold by local businesses as a great way of showing support. This could include purchasing T-shirts, hats, stickers or mugs and making an impressionful statement about who you support!
Be mindful if visiting places struggling with overtourism. Overtourism occurs when visitors don’t reap any economic benefit from tourism and this can have serious repercussions for local culture, land and animals living there. Mass arrivals, increased competition for resources and infrastructure and an increase in visitors during peak times all may contribute to overtourism in a destination.
One way to prevent overtourism is to select more authentic places and experiences; such as by eschewing mainstream or iconic locations and booking tours with locals; in addition to traveling during off season travel periods.
Keep your actions in mind; their actions have an effect, so be conscious about how you discuss a place or its people. Words can easily devalue a destination through devaluing language; thus it’s wise to give much consideration when speaking about travel destinations before planning trips there.
Greenwashing should also be avoided, which refers to when establishments claim they are environmentally-friendly without providing supporting documentation or certifications to back their claims. Hotels, tour companies and other types of accommodations often engage in this practice and it often causes more harm than good for well-meaning tourists. Tourism makes up 10% of global GDP so it is our duty to use tourism for good instead of degradation.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions
As has been illustrated throughout this article, tourism impacts many different areas, and while local communities and governments ultimately bear responsibility for managing its effects, tourists themselves can play an active role in supporting responsible travel by becoming more conscious when planning trips and engaging with destinations visited.
Start by lowering expectations and being open to new experiences, as well as respecting the culture of our destination even when we don’t agree with it. Also be careful how we represent a place and its people online as it’s easy to use subtly demeaning language or perpetuate stereotypes which could have serious repercussions for those there.
Questions should always be asked when booking tours and accommodation; TripAdvisor reviews alone cannot provide us with enough information about who to trust with our money and time. It’s also crucial that we distinguish between greenwashing and true sustainability practices – with greenwashing often used as a marketing ploy by companies to appear more eco-friendly than they actually are.
One way of being a responsible tourist is to patronize local businesses whenever possible. Doing this not only boosts the local economy but can be an excellent source of local information about hidden gems, shortcuts and tips from locals that may not appear online. In addition, this way you will help support a small business owner rather than contributing to larger corporations that may outsource jobs overseas.
Staying at hotels that use solar panels and recycle waste can also help you be more responsible. Although more costly, choosing such accommodations will have a significant effect on your carbon footprint and waste production. In order to further minimize waste production, opting not for daily bed linen changes/towel changes/using a “Do Not Disturb” sign/turning off all lights/appliances when leaving rooms can all help make an impactful difference.
