While there is increasing awareness about conscious travel amongst travellers, most feel that the responsibility lies elsewhere. Sure, it is well established that we must look for sustainable hotels, avoid hopping flights, discourage the use of plastic, and so on. But sometimes, even with the right intentions, we may end up with a higher carbon footprint because of a lack of adequate information. To bridge the gap between intention and the right action, we spoke to industry insiders to explore the many facets of responsible travel. It is heartening to learn that responsible travel may not be all that complicated. Even your most minor efforts can have a substantial overall effect when done in large numbers.
"The average traveller is becoming discerning," says Mandip Singh Soin, founding president of Responsible Tourism Society of India. "We are seeing an increasing number of travellers who are keen to go on journeys with tour companies and hotels that make them feel good about not making any negative impact on the environment, or at least minimising it, whilst also maximising their positive impact."
That said, sustainability is still a luxury and not quite the norm yet. "The upper end and luxury market tourism is changing in a big way, but mass tourism is pretty much unaffected," states conservation ecologist and photographer Latika Nath. But she also notes that people are increasingly willing to pay the extra cost for options that are better for our planet.
Shivya Nath shares that many times, responsible choices are presented as either expensive or boring, which they don't have to be. Nath is a travel blogger at the Shooting Star; she also runs a course to teach travel creators to be more responsible and collaborates with responsible travel advocates across the world to spread the message of sustainability. "I personally think that conscious travel is a more immersive way of travel and that you can do it on any budget," she says.
One, however, cannot deny the climate emergency that we are facing. So it is encouraging to learn that in the last few years, there has been considerable awareness—hotels, travellers, and associations have begun to put basics in place, especially for waste disposal, ethical use of energy, water harvesting, and so on. "That is how change works, I guess, it begins with individuals and moves organisations, and slowly, as the number of change makers increases, it gathers momentum," adds Shoba Rudra, founder partner, Rare India, a marketing platform that promotes boutique hotels and experiences chosen based on their key ethos of community-inclusivity and planet-sensitivity.
"Sustainability essentially means that we do minimal harm, but what's also important is that not only do we do minimal harm, but we also help with regeneration, restoring ecosystems, increasing species' habitats, and so forth," explains Nath. This is particularly important because even as we take baby steps towards sustainability, it is time to reverse the damage. Many volunteer programs and immersive experiences encourage travellers to do the same.
Another interesting trend that is emerging is "destination duping." A new buzzword in conscious travel, it basically means that one can opt for alternative, less expensive destinations with all the allure of a similar, more popular, and possibly more expensive place. For example, as Greece faces over-tourism on its islands Santorini and Mykonos, you can choose to holiday on some of its other islands, which are just as beautiful. Or, instead of visiting over-populated hill stations like Shimla and Mussoorie, explore lesser-known holiday spots like Kalpa and Shitlakhet. Destination duping is thus a great way to avoid over-tourism at 'trending' destinations.
Keeping things simple, Rudra explains that you cannot be a responsible traveller if you are unaware of how your daily life choices contribute to our climate issues. Responsible travel, thus, goes far beyond booking an eco-lodge or avoiding single-use plastic. "It is a whole gamut of choices that you make, right from the time you start thinking about travelling somewhere till the time you come back," says Nath.
It takes only a few minutes to visit a few websites and scan the environmental policies of travel providers, hotels, and airlines to make informed choices. In order to dig deeper and ensure that every choice you make has a lighter impact on the planet, our experts have put together the following questions for you to consider.
When you choose your next holiday destination, you may look for places beyond the ones that are trending on social media. Since travel is a privilege, we can do it more mindfully - let's think about what interests us deeply and then choose destinations. Also, look for a deeper reason to travel to a destination rather than mindlessly following trends.
Let's face it—most travel constitutes some amount of carbon footprint. Most forms of private transport are not eco-friendly. Whether it is private charters, personal cars, or private yachts, their impact on the environment is much more than a commercial airline that transports hundreds of passengers.
Accommodation comprises a very important aspect of responsible travel. Concerning hoteliers and accommodations, there's a whole spectrum of those who are adopting sustainable practices—their heart is in the right place, and they're doing it for ethical and environmental reasons. But many others are doing it out of pressure because travellers are demanding it, investors are demanding it, and also because regulations are coming into place.
If you're keen to make a sustainable choice, some of the touchstones to consider are the property's garbage disposal, energy efficiency, heritage conservation, biodiversity protection, community development, no plastic policy and sensitive destination promotion. However, keep in mind that no one size fits all. "Every situation needs an independent assessment with an independent solution," explains Latika Nath. For example, if you're staying at a destination where the outside temperature is 48 degrees Celsius, it is only fair for your hotel to provide creature comforts like air-conditioning. However, if that air-con is run on solar power, it becomes a green choice. After all, luxury travel can be responsible as well.
Immersing in a new cultural and food experience is an integral part of travelling mindfully. Not only does it allow you to fully enjoy the destination, but it also helps support the local ecology and community. From responsible purchasing so you don't deal with endangered species to following rules and respecting local culture, your responsible behaviour at a place can have a huge impact. Minimising your plastic waste and carrying a reusable water bottle that can be filled with potable water while you're on the go are all small but highly effective responsible actions while travelling.
When travellers come back home, they still have a big role in how they talk about places or their travel experiences on social media. "While there are travel creators who have influence on social media, at the end of the day, everyone has influence, no matter whether that's within our friends and family or whether that's online," explains Nath. One action that travellers can take is, start by not geo-tagging places because very often natural spots are geo-tagged - as more and more people geo-tag a particular destination or place of natural beauty, it becomes trendy for more people to go there and take that same picture. This creates a lot of pressure on the local ecosystem as well as the local community.