#061 Twelve Tips for Sustainable Travel
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast
Episode #61
Twelve Tips for Sustainable Travel
Over the past year or so, many of our normal activities have been put on hold. But that is starting to change, albeit slowly. If you are at all like me, you want to simply get out of the house and go do something, possibly even travel. But as the world returns to tourism activities once again, what will this return to tourism look like? Or maybe a better question is what should it look like?
Although in this episode I want to focus on the basic principles of how to travel with less of an impact, you would be surprised just how many of these tips can actually apply to your daily life.
If you want to learn more, and hear by tasty advice at the end, then listen to this episode which is called Twelve Tips for Sustainable Travel.
Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E61, which is called Twelve Tips for Sustainable Travel.
You know as I was researching tips on sustainable travel, I was truly surprised at how many of these tips can be applied to our daily lives. After all as you have no doubt heard me say before, everything we do has some sort of environmental impact. It is nearly impossible not to. But the good news is that sustainability is all about making conscious choices and conscious decisions at home as well as on the road.
Now what I think is that when most people travel they truly have good intentions. But when it comes to sustainable practices, they often do not even know where to start. However, with just a little focus, you can make a positive impact wherever you go.
So, why is this important?
Well, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, since 1950 there has been a 56 fold increase in international travel. There were only 25 million international arrivals in 1950. As of 2018, there were 1.4 billion. That is expected to increase to 1.8 billion by 2030. The travel and tourism industry accounts for 10.2 % of the global gross domestic product, which is just a financial measure of the monetary value of all goods and services.
All of this travel produces enormous benefits such as economic growth and even personal fulfillment but this often comes at the expense of the environment and the local communities which are impacted by crowded streets, pollution, habitat loss, and even changes to their culture.
At this point on a global scale travel restrictions are starting to relax a bit. So if you are thinking of taking a trip, I think it is important to ask yourself why you are traveling in the first place. Why that particular destination? What is your purpose for going there? And based on that, decide whether or not you want or even need to travel.
1) Stay Closer to Home
Because one thing to consider, and most people likely do not want to hear this, is that if you are truly interested in traveling sustainably, then think about staying closer to home. Go somewhere within driving distance or consider taking a train. Ultimately staying closer to home is going to result in far less emissions than boarding a plane.
2) Slow Down and Stay in One Place
But if you are intent on going abroad then consider staying in the same place for awhile. Instead of traveling from place to place and cramming in as much as possible, slow down a bit and actually experience the place where you are staying. You will no doubt get to know the unique charm of a place, build deeper connections with the local people, and take in the local culture.
One other thing to consider is instead of taking multiple one or two-week vacations throughout the year, consider taking one longer trip. This is something that I’ve done for years now. As I like to tell my friends these days, I no longer take two-week vacations, I take two months. What that means for me is that I pick one location, rent a small apartment or guest house from a local, or I do a home stay. I then use that as a home base and travel from there. I use public transportation and almost never rent a car. By doing this, I have made some wonderful friends and gotten to see some fantastic places that most tourist never see.
Even when I travel for work, I pick one location and stay much longer. In the past, I would not hesitate to finish a job in one state on a Friday, drive 1000 miles over the weekend, then be working in another state by Monday. Now, I take longer contracts with hospitals, take my travel trailer, which is a very low impact way of living, and I spend months in one location.
3) Get off the beaten path, go in the off season
Another interesting thing to consider when you travel is to not only get off the beaten path but consider traveling in the off season. The simple fact is that many historic cities, beaches, and tourist hotspots are simply overrun with hordes of people. By going to places that are less traversed, you take the pressure off of the local communities. By going in the off season, many times you can have a much more authentic and memorable experience.
Again, this is something I have done many times and I have had some of the best experiences in my life by doing so. For example, when I went to England and France, I did so in the off season. Not only did I get a better airfare, I had no trouble finding lodging. I had numerous personal conversations with business owners and made new friends.
When I wanted to go on a kayaking trip on Lake Powell, I went in the off season. Not only did I have the campgrounds completely to myself but I spent 2 weeks kayaking and never saw a single person. And these are just two examples of how I have produced some great memories by simply getting off the beaten path and going in the off season.
4) Patronize Local Businesses
If there is any one thing that I could truly encourage you to do when you travel, that is to make sure to patronize local businesses and entrepreneurs. This is the best way to make sure those communities reap the benefits of tourism. These are the people that lived there well before you arrived and will continue to live there once you are gone. They have to make a living just like you and I do. So when you travel, keep your dollars local. Instead of staying in a chain hotel or a hotel owned by an expat, consider staying in locally owned guest houses or just doing a home stay. And by all means take advantage of the locally owned restaurants.
For example, when I was working in Saint Kitts, we rented a house own by a local and this house was far away from the local expat community. One of my favorite restaurants to go to was on the beach and essentially looked like a run down shack. But the guy that owned the place also live there. He got his vegetables from local farmers. He sourced his fish from local fisherman. There were four things on the menu and everything was made to order. It was some of the best food on the island.
But as I stated in E59, our success at developing a global environment of sustainability is dependent on the success of even the most marginalized people in our culture. The same is true when you travel. If you truly think about it, people in other cultures view us as being rich because we have the choice to travel while they do not. Consequently, if you truly want to support an equitable distribution of wealth then you can do so my patronizing local businesses, especially those that are owned and operated by marginalized groups such as indigenous populations, minorities and local women.
5) Respect the Local Communities
And furthermore, often times in our excitement to embark on a new adventure, we so frequently forget that the place we are visiting is a place that many people call home. You should consider yourself incredibly fortunate that you get to visit their home and get a glimpse into their way of life, their beliefs, and their traditions while expanding your own personal horizons. So, treat them with respect.
This can be as simple as learning some common phrases. Be polite, learn how to say please and thank you. Obey local laws and guidelines. Be aware that certain words, the clothing you wear, even the types of shoes you wear may be considered offensive in some cultures.
Many years ago I was standing in an airport in Mexico. I did not know a lot of Spanish at the time and was waiting for a friend of mine to arrange for local transportation. There were a number of local children milling around trying to sell some homemade food items. I will never forget what this one American was doing. Instead of simply make a purchase, he was rolling pennies across the floor and laughing as the local children fought over who could get it first. What a great example of how not to be.
Coming from a person that has traveled a fair amount, I can tell you with certainty that being friendly and respectful has resulted in my making new friends, greatly deepening my travel experience and enabling me to see places that most people only see on the pages of National Geographic.
But the same is true when I travel in the United States. Being kind and friendly is far more conducive to my learning how to run my life while in a strange environment as opposed to being loud, obnoxious, and pushy.
6) Avoid Single Use Plastics and Disposable Items
And by now I hope it goes without saying that we need to avoid using disposable items and single use plastics. While many governments around the world are making headway on this issue, single use plastics are making a come back due to hygiene concerns during the pandemic. But many countries just simply do not have the infrastructure to manage all the waste produced by the locals much less the waste generated by tourism.
There are many ways to avoid this. Choose to dine in rather than get take out food. If you use street vendors, make sure they use biodegradable containers. If water quality is in question, purchase a water bottle with a built in purifier. Better yet, purchase a water filter to take with you and use that instead of purchasing bottled water.
Another easy thing to do is take your own containers and utensils. Now this is something I do whether I travel or not. I keep camping plates, utensils, and travel mugs and cups in my truck all the time. This keeps me from using disposable plastics when I travel and work in different hospitals as well as when I go abroad.
For example, I have two travel cups. One I use primarily for coffee. The other one is a bit larger and I use that for food. The two cups together cost me about $20 USD and I have had them for years.
Did you realize that we use 16 billion disposable coffee cups every year. The world uses 500 billion plastic cups a year. Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam cups every year.
Furthermore, plastic bottle take 450 years to decompose. Glass takes 1 million years. Styrofoam never, ever, ever, decomposes. All of this can be prevented by simply purchasing a reusable product that you will have for a life time. And this of course goes a long way toward protecting our natural resources.
7) Visit Local Protected Areas
One of the most important natural resources we have that is vital to protecting our planet’s biodiversity is our national parks, marine sanctuaries, nature reserves, designated wilderness, as well as other protected areas. In many places around the world it is the entrance fees, operator permits, and tourism fees that are needed to protect these important areas.
It is estimated that more than 8 billion people around the world visit these areas. This generates more than $850 billion that funds research, conservation efforts, and helps support the local communities.
When Annette and I took a trip to Costa Rica, we were advised to stay away from the Caribbean coast because it was dangerous. As it turns out, we went there anyway. We visited a local protected area where you were required to hire a local guide for the sum of $20. Our guide was wearing a tank top, shorts, no shoes, and was a large framed guy that looked pretty gruff. Needless to say, I was at first hesitant to walk off in the jungle with this guy. But despite his appearance, he was very friendly, well educated, spoke four languages, and so extremely knowledgeable of the local jungle I gave him a substantial tip on top of the $20 fee.
8) Take Advantage of Local Transportation
When I first started traveling many years ago, I always rented a vehicle. I was hesitant to depend on the locals because I did not know anyone and I just felt safer being able to have my own transportation. Presently, it is much more common place for me to use public transportation, travel by train, or use local taxis drivers.
If you have never driven a vehicle in a foreign country, using some sort of alternative transportation may in fact be even safer. I can say from personal experience that driving in Costa Rica is like being in the Indy 500, it is not safe to drive alone in Bolivia anyway, and unless you are adept at also driving on the opposite side of the road, you had better just use someone else.
We once spent 6 weeks in Honduras doing some advance training in scuba diving. While on this island we got to know one of the local taxis drivers. He was very friendly, very helpful, and very dependable. Needless to say, he actually made our stay on the island much more enjoyable.
9) Use Companies that Focus on Sustainable Practices
You have no doubt heard me say before that choices make changes. What that means is that it is our consumer choices that drive the market place. Consequently, when you travel you should do some research prior to your trip and find companies that are focus on sustainable practices. Look into their energy and water conservation practices. Have they eliminated single-use plastics? Do they source their supplies locally? Do they hire locals for important roles in their business? Do they promote biodiversity, conservation, and responsible interaction with wildlife?
Now there are still plenty of businesses around the world that do not appreciate the value of sustainability. These businesses will start changing their mind on that issue when they start seeing their competition pushing the concepts of sustainable travel and reaping the benefits. In that small way, you can influence the market place.
10) Respect the Local Resources
One of the downsides to tourism is the impact on local resources. Westerners typically use more water, light, heat, and electricity than 5 people in any developing country. And often times, the locals pay the price. Just because it is a developing country doesn’t mean their resources are less expensive than ours.
So, do the same thing you would do at home if you were trying to live more sustainably. Turn off the lights, turn off the TV, keep your electronics unplugged, take shorter showers, don’t leave the water running, even do laundry by hand. You can even use a smaller, more basic accommodation that is likely locally owned.
I once stayed in a very small basic hotel in Guatemala while I was there on a business trip. The room was very small. My bed was a cot. Everyone showered in the same communal area, although there were private shower stalls. The business was owned by a local. The cost of my stay: $2 USD/night.
11) Just Say NO to Cruise Ships
Now I want to bring up something that I truly dislike, and that is cruise ships. So many people that I know love going on a cruise. My own sister swears by them. Personally, the vision of me being trapped in a large ship with thousands of other people is the last thing I would ever consider doing.
With modern technology and engineering, cruise ships have truly become small floating cities. But what you have to realize is that when you take a cruise, your environmental footprint triples. Not only that, you are sitting in a small floating city that dumps trash, waste, food, and sewage directly in the ocean which pollutes beaches, contaminates coral reefs and destroys local marine environments. One large cruise ship carrying 7,000 passengers on a one-week voyage can generate as much as 210,000 gallons of human sewage, 1 million gallons of gray water, not mention the oily bilge water and trash.
In the end, the only people that benefit from such an industry is someone that wants an all inclusive voyage where you go port to port and never really get to experience the culture in any country you visit.
Just say no to cruises. If you want to go to another country, then enjoy the culture, learn something new, and make some new friends. You will be glad you did.
12) Consider a House Sitting Gig
Okay, on the last tip, which is something that few people think about. There are numerous ways to be more sustainable while traveling. But what most people do not realize is that housesitting is by far one of the best. There are many people that live abroad that also want to travel, see family, and be gone for weeks to months. By house sitting, you take care of their plants, their gardens, and their pets. No money is exchanged but each party obviously benefits.
By doing so, you stay in a local’s home instead of Airbnb or a chain hotel. This means you are not displacing any of the local residents in favor of Airbnb which in some cities abroad is a huge problem.
It also means that you get too slow down, see the local area, get to know the local residents, and patronize local businesses.
Final Words
You know when I was much younger, and at a time when airline travel and security was much more relaxed, I would take some time off work, pack a bag with clothes sufficient for a variety of weather conditions, go to the airport, scan through all the flights for the day, randomly pick a destination, purchase a ticket and get on the plane with absolutely no idea where I was going to stay or what would happen when I got there.
These days of course, such a thing is not possible. And the simple fact that traveling with little forethought and planning is about the least sustainable thing you could do. Which brings up a good point. With the technology and communications ability we have these days, it is far easier for us to plan ahead, do some research and choose carefully how and when we travel.
One thing is for sure, regardless of the environmental impact,
travel will not stop as long as there is a demand. And international arrives are likely going to exceed 1.8 billion per year by 2030.
But you can still enjoy your love for travel by staying closer to home, slow down and stay in one place for longer, get off the beaten path, patronize local businesses, respect local communities, avoid disposable items, visit protected areas,
use local transportation, focus on sustainable companies, respect the local resources, please say no to cruise ships, and consider a house sitting gig.
By now most of my listeners know that I spend a lot of time outdoors. And one of the best principles to practice when hiking, camping, backpacking, or simply going out for a day trip, is the concept of “leave no trace”. Now think of that as you go on a road trip, or drive to work, or go to a restaurant, or get on an airplane. If you simply focused on that one principle, “leave no trace”, then by default you are focusing on zero waste, using no plastic, reducing your food waste, etc. If you think about all of these travel tips along side the concept of “leaving no trace” you will begin to understand how we must think about sustainability in everything we do.
Or when you travel, if you think in terms of leaving only foot prints or leaving only smiles on peoples faces because you were there, you will by default have respected the local communities, patronized local businesses, respected the local resources, made new friends, and traveled respectfully and sustainably. Imagine what the world would be like if all of us went through our entire lives and left nothing on this planet except foot prints.
And I would like to close this episode with a quote from Albert Einstein.
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
And that is exactly what we need to do. We need to learn from our mistakes of yesterday. We need to live sustainably today so that we can leave hope and sustainable resources for the people of tomorrow.
The same is true with sustainability. The best way to start living more sustainably is to never stop questioning.
This is your host Patrick signing off until next week. Always remember to live sustainably because this is how we build a better future.
Patrick
