30 Ways to be a More Sustainable Traveller

During the global pandemic, air travel and travel in general came to a halt and this caused a sharp fall in carbon emissions. Now, obviously many of us are not ready to completely give up travelling, but as the industry starts to make its return there are things that we can do in order to travel more sustainably. I’ve compiled a few ways to help you become a more sustainable traveller, including furthering your cultural understanding, reducing your plastic and food waste and limiting energy and water use.

The UN World Tourism Organization’s definition of sustainable tourism is: “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.” So, let’s see what we can do! Transport

For those who love flying, this may be the hardest section but there are ways to help:

- Carbon offset flying by supporting forestry or energy projects – Skyscanner lets you know if the airline you choose is a more sustainable option in terms of reducing carbon emissions

- Whilst you do have to pay to rent bikes and use public transport, you will still find that it’s a lot cheaper than getting a taxi or renting a car and it’s also so much better for the environment – or just walk if possible!

- Find alternatives to flying, such as, boats or driving – if you are going on a road trip, try to rent hybrid or electric cars in order to use less fuel and produce less carbon emissions

- Avoid cruises as they pollute oceans and have no beneficial impact on local communities they dock at as everything is pre-paid on board so tourists don’t buy local

- Avoid the flights altogether and go for a staycation and explore local – these have become increasingly popular this year and many people have been finding great spots locally

Accommodation

These are all relatively low effort things that can be done anywhere and everywhere you stay:

- Opt for an eco-hotel or hostel – Does the hotel have a recycling program or any other sustainability initiatives? Do they hire local staff, get food locally and have locally sourced décor?

- If you are using AC or heating in your hotel room, make sure that the windows and curtains are closed in order to conserve as much of the air/heat as possible and make sure to turn it off when you leave the room – keeping the curtains closed might actually keep out the heat of the sun so you don’t need to use the AC

- Put do not disturb signs on your hotel door so that they don’t clean your room everyday as this is unnecessary and hang towels up so they don’t give you new ones

- Take shorter showers, turning water off while you lather/shampoo/shave/brush teeth – as you should be doing at home anyways

- If possible hand wash clothes, as laundry places will wash everyone’s clothes separately which isn’t great in terms of water use, it will also save you from being overcharged or losing any clothes

- Avoid going all-inclusive and using buffets – so much waste!

Packing

When it comes to packing, it’s relatively easy to make it more sustainable, from clothes to toiletries to paper tickets:

- Do you really need to have that shopping spree before going on holiday? Look in your wardrobe before even thinking about going holiday shopping and if you really do need new clothes, try out your local charity shops or depop in order to avoid fast fashion – or normalise re-wearing the same outfits!

- Pack a reusable tote bag and take it everywhere – you’ll never accept a plastic bag again! On the topic of plastic, one of my top purchases was my reusable straws and cutlery – I can now pack these wherever I go and I’ll never have to use a plastic straw or knife and fork again

- Buy a multi-country plug and make sure to look after it so that you don’t have to buy a new plug for every country you go to

- Buying travel sized toiletries is never going to be sustainable. I love testing new travel soap and shampoo bars and getting a cute little tin to carry them in, they also last around 3-5x longer than normal sized shampoo bottles, tend to be palm oil, plastic and cruelty free as well as vegan

- Now, I’m always guilty of getting a paper boarding pass or tickets for attractions (we all love a memento) but if they are available as e-tickets, there’s really no need to have them printed off

Social Impact

Making an effort with host communities can go a long way:

- Do research before you travel to learn about the destination’s local cultural traditions, so you can speak and behave appropriately – learn at least a few words of the language so you can interact with the locals

- Ask for permission to take people’s photos as in some cultures it is incredibly rude to do so without permission

- Buy locally made souvenirs from local markets rather than souvenir shops and eat at local restaurants rather than trying to find the closest McDonalds for a burger and fries

- Never buy wildlife products as this supports a growing industry for trafficking rare and endangered wildlife products as souvenirs

- Avoid any places suffering from over tourism so that we don’t lose them and make sure to stick to marked hiking paths rather than going off the trail

Activities

It can be so easy to fall into tourist traps, especially when it comes to animal tourism so make sure you do the right research:

- If you’re visiting sanctuaries, make sure they’re ethical – never feed or touch the wildlife and keep a respectful distance

- Don’t buy souvenir photos from anyone exploiting wildlife e.g. elephant rides

- Don’t take any tour that promises hands-on encounters with wild animals e.g. elephant rides/walking with lions/meeting tigers as this supports an industry that illegally captures, transports and abuses millions of animals each year

- Be careful with voluntourism, it can sometimes cause more harm than good – make sure you research the company extensively before booking and remember that in general long-term projects are more sustainable

- Travel with small group tour operators as they tend to have less environmental impact – membership in an organization like The International Ecotourism Society is always good!

Reusable water bottles

I’m not sure why I’ve given this its own section but apparently people need to hear this:

- BUY A REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE – it’s literally one of the easiest ways to reduce plastic use whilst travelling – plus you’ll save money in the long run as you don’t have to buy a plastic water bottle everywhere you go! So many airports now have free water fountains or refill stations so you’re sorted for your flight!

- If you’re worried that you are heading somewhere with no drinking water, maybe it’s worth investing in a reusable filtered water bottle, and whilst they can be more pricey, in the long run it might actually save money depending on the length of your trip

- If you love trying coffee from around the world, maybe it’s worth taking your own travel coffee mug so you don’t have to keep getting single use ones with every coffee you buy (some places even offer discounts for bringing your own) – and it can even double up as a water bottle!

- And now you can say no to the plastic cups offered on your flight because you’ll have your reusable water bottle or mug!

Obviously, many of these tips can be fairly costly and not always in budget. Whilst I’ve split this into 5 different sections, there are actually more like 30 tips in total and I hope that you’ll try and incorporate some of them into your next trip, I know I will!