Have you ever given a thought to the Carbon footprint you leave behind when you travel? Transport accounts for around one-fifth of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and just by being considerate while choosing your mode of travel, you can reduce your carbon footprint by miles. Air travel emits the highest amount of CO2 in the environment and it is advisable to avoid travel by air. Choosing either travelling by railway or carpooling could be a minute step to protect the environment. Taking these small and minute decisions is called Sustainable Travel. The environment is changing before our eyes, in bits and pieces. The bigger picture will no longer look good in some time, so it becomes our responsibility to do our parts in preserving nature. And what better way to do this as a traveler than sustainable travelling.
"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"
Quoted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, but in mundane terms it means; to travel with being considerate towards your environment, both ecological and economical. But the most important question that arises is how to be an ace at doing sustainable travel.
To know this first, we should be well aware of the three pillars of sustainability; Planet, People, and Profits.
Planet;
“Leave Nothing but Footprints”
Planet or environmental sustainability can be approached by doing simple things like reducing waste while you travel, avoiding the use of plastics, and minimizing your carbon footprint. One of the most important ways to do this is by minimizing waste and pollution. And the easiest way to do this is by opting to travel on foot to traversable places and avoiding motors as much as possible. Carrying a portable water bottle, and refilling it after every use, instead of buying plastic water bottles, is also advisable. Taking small steps beforehand, like doing research on how the recycling process works, and asking locals for help, also considering that the most amount of carbon emissions happen due to air travel, so check up airlines and what they do to help.
People;
Travelers have a huge benefit of conserving the surrounding nature. We must recognize that tourism has an impact on communities, and it is our responsibility to reduce or eliminate the negative impacts and boost the positive. It is vital to be considerate of the local communities and people we come across and to promote them as tourists. One of the easiest ways to do this is, by getting in touch with the locals, and staying at places that give back to the community or are run by locals. Make sure you promote and support eco-tourism, and the key is research. Many times, businesses may just say they support sustainability without actually doing it.
Profit;
Now sometimes, the real meaning of sustainable profit gets lost along the line. This is mainly focused on the art of “Giving Back”. Wherever you travel to always remember to give a little back to the environment, sometimes it can be hard to manage ecotourism by the locals, so keep in mind to help these locals in keeping the natural reserves in a good condition.
Apart from these things that we can do ourselves, it is always an easier alternative to opt for Sustainable Tours and Travels. Given that this is an up-and-coming topic, more tours have been started to focus on eco-travel. From conservation projects and off-grid lodges to all-inclusive safari tours that do help the local communities, boutique hotels, and bespoke luxury itineraries, many eco-friendly travel companies do wear their green heart on their sleeves.
We at Earthy Hues, look after both the environment and our travelers. We take part and promote “Green Tourism” as well as show concern for the ecological development of the destinations we visit. Not only that, but we also believe in making our tourists, come in first-hand contact with nature and learn the intricacies of the surrounding environment. While on safaris, or simply moving from different locations, we provide trash bags to prevent our tourists from littering, we also advise them to take short showers, reuse towels, to conserve water wastage in every place we halt. Furthermore, we respect and uphold the rules of national parks by staying on the trail and highly discourage off-roading. We also watch the animals from afar without disturbing their general habitation. Earthy Hues offers more than a dozen destinations, which you can check here! Come travel with Earthy Hues!