Take Only Memories, Leave Only Footprints
Traveling is now easier than ever. The more we travel, the more important it is to be aware. Responsible travel isn’t a travel trend, it’s a necessity.
1. Take Nothing, Leave Nothing, Kill Nothing
Think about future generations and leave everything the way it was!! However, feel free to take rubbish to a bin!!! Our environment belongs to everyone and no one has a right to mess about with it.
2. Catch Local Buses or Trains Instead of Flying
The footprint airlines leave in their wake is very unclean and is speeding up climate change. If you can get somewhere by catching public transport, then save your wallet and Mother Earth and take that it! By the way keep cruise trip travel to a bare minimum!
3. Keep Energy and Consumption in Hostels/Hotels to a Minimum
Develop good habits and act as you would at home. Turn off the lights, air-conditioners and TV when you leave the room and re-use towels and sheets.
4. Water is Very Precious
Keep showers short and turn off the water when you brush your teeth. Re-use water bottles to minimize waste.
5. Consider Walking or Cycling When Possible
These are great ways to get to know the place on a more personal level, will help you get your bearings and who knows, you might even stumble across some hidden secret spots!
6. Act, Eat, and Shop Like a Local, and Support the Local Economy
Get culturally immersed, connect with the places you’re visiting and we promise you’ll have a much more rewarding and authentic travel experience. Think about all the environmental benefits that will result; transportation of goods minimized, help in employment of locals, improve the lifestyle of locals, etc., etc. By having dinner at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, staying in a family-run guest house or purchasing a trinket from a street vendor, you are helping to inject money directly into the local economy.
7. Eat Local Produce
Straight from the ground to your mouth means it is much healthier, costs less and is far better for the environment.
8. Avoid Plastic
Avoid plastic bags when shopping; put shopping in your backpack or reuse old plastic bags. When you go hiking recycle a plastic bag to put your rubbish in. Do not, by any means, let the plastic bags go into the ocean!!
9. Speak Up and Educate Others
If your hostel/hotel doesn’t seem to be promoting recycling, let them know they should in their feedback section. Educate fellow travelers to be green travelers as much as possible so we are all contribute towards conserving this beautiful Earth!!
10. Consider Booking a “Green Hotel”
I know it’s hard to tell if a hotel/hostel is eco-friendly. However, there are a couple of websites (including Trip Advisor) that are enabling us to make choices based on green practices. It may take a little bit more research to find these sustainable places, but the benefits are worth the effort.
11. Volunteer Some of Your Time
Volunteering a portion of your time to worthwhile causes and with reputable organizations can make a world of difference. Think about how the local communities could thereby be uplifted!! Another great idea is to contact a local NGO and ask if they need any supplies brought over.
12. Think Before You Act With Wildlife Activities
When making plans for an overseas vacation, a lot of people have exotic dreams of riding elephants, swimming with dolphins or having their photos taken with tigers, but these irresponsible activities often do more harm than good. If you are really interested in visiting a place that houses and protects animals, make sure you contact the place the place and find out about practices. When snorkeling or scuba diving, don’t touch/step on the coral or stir up sediment, as it can damage the reef’s fragile ecosystem. Don’t take any tour that promises hands-on encounters with wild animals, such as riding elephants or walking with lions. If you do, you’re supporting an industry that illegally captures, transports, and abuses millions of animals each year.
13. Respect the Local Culture
One of the greatest rewards we can have when we travel is learning about different cultures and religions. The world and its people are diverse and fascinating, and it is an astonishing feeling being privileged enough to experience it. We must keep in mind how important it is to show respect to those local customs and traditions when we travel.
14. Think Before You Bargain
In some parts of the world, bargaining for products is a part of the culture. It can almost be like a game! But please think about the bigger picture when bartering for that souvenir. Before you start haggling over a dollar, think about how far that extra bit of cash could go for the person you are dealing with. Look at the bigger picture! If you don’t think twice about staying in an expensive hotel and drinking overpriced cocktails by the pool, don’t then try and bully a local out of a couple of bucks.
15. Avoid Giving to Beggars
Now this one really is a hard one, as most of us feel completely heart broken when we see people (especially children) begging in the streets. But it is important to remember that begging only encourages local people to continue asking tourists for money which is not a sustainable way for anyone to live!! As a result, there are many destinations that end up with people begging who are pretending to be worse off than they are in order to extort money off of foreigners.
16. Leave the ‘Do Not Disturb’ Sign on the Door
If you’re staying in accommodation that provides daily maintenance, put the sign on the door showing you don’t require it. Not only will reusing the same towels save extra water and electricity, but it’ll also save extra plastic bags which would have been wasted changing bins/trash cans.
17. Recycle When Possible
It’s easy to get out of routine when you’re not home but it’s still just as important to try. Whether you’re in your own country or not, we all share the same world and need to keep trying to keep it clean of our rubbish.
18. Only Do Full Loads of Washing
When you need to do washing and don’t have enough to make a full load, ask if someone wants to share with you. You’ll get your clothes washed and only pay half! But if that’s not possible, consider only running a half-cycle.
19. Wear Clothes More Than Once
Most backpackers do this anyway so will be happy to have the extra excuse of helping the environment. To everyone else in society, we apologize!!
20. Go Easy on the Free Stuff
Why do so many travelers jump at the chance of using extra when something is free? Using extra washing powder, stealing free toiletries, using a huge squirt of washing liquid when doing the dishes because bubbles are fun. Treat someone’s business as you would like them to treat yours. Use only what you need and leave what you don’t. We are sure it’s good karma or something too!!!
21. Do Not Collect Maps, Pamphlets and Avoid Buying Travel Related Books
Most hotel/hostel staff will give you a map of the city, show you where you are and circle hot-spots you shouldn’t miss. You’ll use the map for those few days then throw it away never to be seen again. When you think about how many people go through each hotel and how many people pick up and throw away maps, you may reconsider doing the same. Perhaps you could download a map to your phone or take a picture of the map? The same goes for pamphlets, menus, etc., etc. Along the same lines, look up blogs rather than buying paper books – or purchase eBooks if you like having a guide to follow.
Last Word
Please Remeber!
“Peasant people … don’t have a chance to share in the riches that the planet can offer because some people are taking off so much of the pleasures of this world, and there’s only so much to go around.” – Sister Dorothy Stang
Add a Comment