What is sustainable travel? How to plan one?
Summer vacations are on for a lot of families. After Covid-19 shutdowns, many are ready to leap out of their houses and go on short and long getaways. But are you sustainable travel insured?
What is sustainable travel? The UN World Tourism Organisation defines sustainable travel as, “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities.”
Simply put, your sustainable travel will not leave behind a “negative footprint” of the travellers. Something that will ensure the destination environment remains unharmed, the local communities unaffected by your travel and the entire process of going to and from the destination doesn’t add on to the environmental burden.
Much of our travel behaviour often leaves behind a huge carbon footprint. This includes massive greenhouse emitting air travel, using disposable items like cups, plates, solid waste and littering, chemical pollution, mass travel to pristine locations harming the surroundings etc.
How to travel responsibly?
- Visiting local tourist spots and avoiding air travel. Travelling by public transport (trains are cited as the best) will also offset the negative impact.
- If air travel is unavoidable, look for flights that are “greener” in options. Skyscanner is one such portal that helps you find greener options for flights.
- Pack light if you are taking a flight, as heavy luggage means more fuel burnt slowly.
- Ensure zero waste by carrying your own stainless steel water bottle, steel straws, cups, plates, etc. so that you don’t have to use single-use plastic.
- Pick eco-friendly toiletries so that you won’t have to use the small plastic bottles of shampoos and other things provided by the hotel or buy new ones.
- The sunscreen you use may contain harmful chemicals damaging to the marine life at a beach, so ensure you take ‘reef-safe’ sunscreen with you. Mosquito repellant sprays can also be harmful to the environment (and even to you), so pack one that is eco-friendly.
- When booking a hotel, some sites such as Booking.com provide “sustainable” options. Sustainable stay options ensure that they have minimum impact on the environment around the property, they source food locally, use efficient lighting and low water pressure systems.
Studies: The 2022 Sustainable Travel Research Report by Booking.com found that 91% of Indian travellers have indicated that they want to travel sustainably, a 15% increase from last year. So among the desi travellers, there is a desire to be more conscious of the environment as they travel. However, much of it still needs to be put into practice.