Irresponsible and excessive tourism has become the planet’s bane, leading to detrimental effects on ecosystems, contributing to deforestation, habitat destruction, and pollution, as well as shattering the peace of the local population. Before you pack your bags for this long weekend, pick a few sustainable travel tips.

Booking:

Flight: Take a direct flight, if possible. Aeroplanes produce more carbon during take-off and landing than while flying. Pit stops and layovers are avoidable. Check whether the airlines has any carbon offset programs. Do not print your ticket; canning smartphones at airports and train stations is very easy. 

Hotel: Stay in homestay. Book eco-friendly hotels. Look for certifications like Green Seal, LEED Certified, EarthCheck, Green Globe, Rainforest Alliance, and/or Green Tourism Business Scheme. ResponsibleTravel.com recommends avoiding all-inclusive resorts. According to them, “They might be a bargain and tough to resist, but the multinational, homogenous, fly-and-flop resorts are low on ethical cred and high on negative environmental and economic impact”.

Cruiseliners: Avoid them. These floating hotels are starting to create a lot of anchor angst with thousands of people landing in on idyllic islands or tiny towns for a few hours at a time. They contribute little to the local economy and increase pollution levels in biodiverse beauty spots. (Source: Responsible Travel)

Packing: Pack as light as possible, bring clothes that can be hand washed and can dry easily, pack a BPA-free reusable bottle, keep reusable bags for shopping etc (there are foldable ones that are smaller than fist size 0. Collapsible travel mugs are available, buy one of those. Carry steel straws (I always carry chopsticks. And cotton handkerchief to avoid using paper napkins).

Pack multi-purpose toiletries. And listen to Yale Travel Management (by Yale University) when it recommends these:

• Hair conditioner can also be used as a shaving cream.

• Coconut oil can be used to shave as well as a moisturiser for hair and skin.

• Castile soap can be used on hair, skin, and laundry.

• A solid shampoo bar can be used as body soap and shaving cream

When you check into a hotel:

• As soon as you walk into your room, unplug any electronics not in use including lamps, the mini-fridge, coffee maker, hair dryer, TV, etc. Appliances drain energy even when they’re not on.

• Reuse your hotel towels and sheets (hanging towels is a sign that you’d like to reuse them)

• Tell the front desk, you do not need housekeeping everyday - a lot of water is wasted to clean sheets/towels, electricity is wasted for vacuuming, and harsh chemicals are sprayed all over the room. A hotel in Tokyo had once offered 500 Yen every day for saying no to housekeeping. Ask the hotel if there is any such offer.

• Take unfinished hotel toiletries with you because the hotel will throw it away, anyway.

• Check whether your hotel recycles. If they do, recycle.

• Take showers (10-25 gallons of water), avoid the bath tub (70 gallons of water).

• Avoid using hotel laundry service. Guest’s clothes are washed separately and consume a lot more water.

• When leaving your hotel, turn off the AC or set the thermostat a few degrees higher.

While travelling:

• Consider walking, biking, or using public transportation and trains, whenever possible.

• Renting a hybrid or electric vehicle instead of driving your own car can reduce your carbon footprint. Trains in the Netherlands are powered by wind energy, Washington D.C. has zero emissions buses, and some of Thailand’s infamous tuk tuks are going electric.

• If you are travelling in a group, driving long distance is more sustainable than flying.

• Choose to shop and eat at small businesses. Small businesses typically use locally-sourced and seasonal foods that have fewer carbon footprint.

• Skip the tourist traps and get off the beaten path.

• Instead of taking multiple shorter trips each year, opt for just one longer vacation. And learn to travel slow.

• If you book a packaged tour, choose an operator that prioritises local suppliers.

• Avoid single-use plastic like plague: Every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic ends up in the oceans - this is equivalent to one garbage truck full of plastic being dumped into the ocean every single minute of every single day.

• An easy way to reduce plastic waste is by dining-in rather than getting take-out from a restaurant - takeouts typically comes with single-use plastic bags, containers, cups, and utensils.

Offset your carbon footprint: Carbon offsetting allows you to balance out the carbon footprint of your trip, by reducing emissions somewhere else in the world. All you have to do is calculate your carbon footprint using an online carbon calculator, then purchase offsets equivalent to the amount of CO2 you produced. The money from your offset purchase will be invested in projects that reduce carbon and other greenhouse gases.

Think before you go on an elephant ride: All elephants must be broken in order for them to work, be around humans and give rides. One traditional way of doing this is ‘phajaan’ or ‘crushing the spirit’. This is a horrific ritual, where a young elephant is kept tied down in a cage and may be deprived of food, beaten, burned and stabbed to literally beat it into submission. (Source: Re- sponsible Travel)

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