As experienced by me, travel is that spirited activity capable of transforming, both the life of the traveler and the communities they encounter. But, some types of travel can do more harm than good to the environment and communities we travel.
Visiting the attractions in responsible ways is not only necessary to protect nature and culture. Responsible tourism also provides you authentic and meaningful experiences on the road. So, I have come up with a few responsible travel tips that will be providing a more authentic and meaningful experience on the road.
1. Time to expand your definition of travel
When so many online resources were not available in the tourism industry, the conception of travel was very limited. Planning a trip involved around a few activities – in which you pick a destination, prepare an itinerary, and spend your day taking photos at the tourist spots. Perhaps this definition of travel was expanded by a mix of travel agents, travel bloggers, writers, and sharing economy platform partners.
It is time to travel in responsible ways and think beyond sightseeing and clicking pictures. It’s time to embrace the change to a responsible traveler; time to think responsibly, sustainably, and travel smartly.
2. Consider traveling in the off-season
If you ask me, traveling is off-season give me better experiences and the opportunity to explore the sport in a more relaxed manner. It is one of the responsible decisions to choose the right time to travel.
I prefer traveling in the off-season when the least amount of tourist activity takes place at the destination. Why traveling in the off-season is a great idea? What makes it a responsible travel tip? Here are my reasons:
- Flights to destinations are considerably less expensive than normal days
- Can save 50 to 70% on accommodations fees by visiting in the off-season
- Will get better food at reduced prices for a meal.
- Enjoy the place with fewer crowds that mean a chance to explore the area deeply.
- Saves you from long queues at major tourist attractions like museums, temples, and monuments.
3. Find the best way to travel
An experience of incredible adventures takes place on land. Prefer traveling by land transports and when you can’t fly responsibly.
The land journey is always eco-friendly, relaxing, and comfortable as compared to air travel. By taking a train that is running smoothly on tracks you’ll get to enjoy the views of landscapes, rivers, constructions of bridges, the wilderness of forest, etc.
You will find land travel often cheaper than flights when you compare things like food, accommodation, space availability, and comfort while traveling.
When you choose land travel over airlines, you do a huge favor to the environment because your trip’s carbon footprint may be lesser than flights. Land travel is not possible and eco-friendly in case long-distance travels or oversees. It depends on you how responsibly you choose the best way to travel to your destination.
4. Pick up accommodation with a blend of sustainability with comfort
With rising awareness among travelers across the globe, more and more people are now aware of the ecological and social impact of tourism. The responsible step that you can take is to pick up accommodation with that promotes sustainability with comfort.
It is easier in India to choose certain places that are environmentally friendly and provides the luxury you seek. Heading out for a vacation? This time book your accommodation which provides a better experience of eco-friendliness.
5. Respect the local culture and heritages
A traveler who is committed to responsible and sustainable travel must commit to local culture and heritage. While traveling, respect must be present in all of your actions.
You may come across with some customers to which you will not agree. While traveling to a distant land, your personal opinions don’t matter. Every land has its own culture and tradition. In such a situation, play your role as a visitor in someone’s home and keep respectful behavior. While traveling across the globe, you will get an opportunity to face several customs, then as a responsible traveler, you need to lead with a respect for those customs. Travel with a willingness to encounter new situations as a chance to learn more about the culture and people.
6. Walk, cycle, bike or take public transit
Public transportation works like a true blessing to a traveler with a budget. It’s exciting to hop into a taxi, Ola, or Uber to reach your destination. You can enjoy the best services in the cab like GPS navigation, well-trained drivers, hassle-free booking and cancellation, but at a higher cost. This higher cost is not the price you will be paying to the service provider or cab driver but towards the environment.
If you have time on your side, choose to use public transport, and promote safe responsible traveling. Choose to walk to explore nearby attractions and market. I think it is better to walk, hire a bike, or use public transport to get around the town. It is also far more cost-saving and eco-friendly than renting a car.
7. Cut down on plastic water bottle waste
It is not a wiser choice to purchase a new plastic water bottle every time you feel thirsty during the trip. I have been traveling for seven years without buying a plastic water bottle.
I always carry my steel water bottle and refill it with filtered drinking water. Gone are those days when filtered drinking water was not easily available. Nowadays, you can easily get filtered drinking water at the railway platform, guesthouse, hotels, café, or bars. With such availability in most places, it’s not good to ignore your responsibility as a traveler towards the planet. Stop consuming water from plastic bottles and start adding your support in responsible tourism.
8. Say a clear no to other single-use plastic
Apart from restricting yourself from water plastic bottles, it is an important responsibility to refuse, reduce, and reuse plastic waste. Say a clear no to single-use plastic materials.
Replace your plastic bags with cloth bags, use steel containers during travel, collect and carry back any non-biodegradable waster from rural areas where proper disposal is not possible.
9. Save Electricity while enjoying your stay
When you book your accommodation, it’s good to enjoy the amenities as per your requirement. Don’t forget this responsible travel tip on saving electricity. Always turn off the lights and air-conditioning when you leave your room or check out.
10. Say no to animal attractions in captive during travel
It breaks my heart when I see long queues in front of zoos, shops of aquariums, animal riding still as a part of the travel business. As a responsible traveler, take a step to stop this trend. Don’t consider the zoo as a tourist attraction spot.
Instead, if you are interested in wildlife tourism, you can choose to watch documentaries on Nat Geo about animals in the wild, go on a jungle safari. You can also prefer bird sanctuary for bird-watching.
11. Choose your travel planner wisely
I prefer to travel independently at my own pace. But if you are planning to join some travel group or book a pre-planned trip, choose the one who promotes sustainable tourism. Travel responsibly in the group and ensure that the money you are spending benefits the local community.
12. Ask people their permission when you photograph them
I have observed that while exploring the destination, many photographers don’t bother to seek permission from people they photograph. It is the most disrespectful manner to walk up to the face, click a bunch of close-up photos, and walk away without saying anything.
I come across many people who say they don’t want to be photographed, and it’s reasonable to respect their wishes. As a responsible traveler, at least what we can do is ask for permission from our subject and be respectful.
13. Eat local and Travel as a vegan
It is the difficult choices that make us human. Since my travel partner has turned vegan from my influence, he is really happy with the decision of eating plant-based food.
I am not going to tell you godly reason like you are killing an animal, you are doing animal abuse. Keeping this aside, a diet (such as meat, eggs, and seafood) that is derived from animals has a higher carbon footprint. It consumes far more water and damages the ecosystem as compared to a plant-based diet.
As a responsible traveler, embrace traveling with responsibility towards the climate. Say no to animal products.
14. Be mindful of sharing your experiences on social media
In today’s era, sharing travel experiences has become universal. Sharing only your positive travel experiences and experiences based on luxury travel stimulates other intentions to visit the same destination. While posting such a beautiful picture, a traveler doesn’t talk about selfie deaths, queue due to over-tourism, the trash around the beach, and those activities leaving a negative impact on the ecology.
By seeing dreamy destinations post, more and more people decide to book trips to such destinations resulting in over-tourism and overburden on ecology.
All this puts more responsibility to make better travel choices while you are the destination. It is also a responsibility to choose better ways while sharing your travel experiences on social media. I don’t understand why to feel shy about sharing the over-crowded tourist place.
15. Use Google Maps – Give printed maps more life
If you are tech-savvy, it advised downloading Google maps on your phone. You can download before leaving your home town or use wi-fi from the hotel. If your hotel or travel company has provided you a map or brochure of a city, leave it at your hotel desk for future guests to use it. Don’t throw your map or brochure of a city after using it. It’s better to give it a second life.
If I conclude, you can understand responsible tourism as a commitment by travelers towards the travel choice. Choices that you make to start the trip (how to travel), during the trip (where to stay, what to eat or what to do), and ending the trip (how to return). These choices need to make by being mindful of the environment, local communities, and traveling comfort. It’s habitually used interchangeably with sustainable tourism.
As a traveler, it is our responsibility to promote sustainable tourism and responsible travel tips for a better world.
It’s the least you can do to protect the beauty of the destination you want to travel to experience in your life!
