Does sustainable travel suck? Answered in 354 words.
What does it mean to travel sustainably?
Is it more expensive? Is your holiday going to suffer if you say yes to a ‘sustainable itinerary?’Are you gonna be forced to eat lentils? (no shade to dal, we love you.)
There are some big questions around travel, sustainability and enjoyment, and it can often feel like sustainability = sacrifice.
Plus, there’s the ‘ergh’ factor. Your holiday time is expensive, limited and valuable. You don’t want to have anything less than a fantastic experience.
But you needn’t worry.
It is possible to travel sustainably, and have an equally (if not more enjoyable) holiday.
There are a few things that you need to keep in mind, but cruicially, they’re not going to detract from your trip.
A few easy sustainability changes:
- Take a look at who your money is impacting. Are you paying into the pocket of a faceless CEO, or supporting a small business owner? Choose the latter.
- Enjoy excursions that celebrate local cultures, rather than commodify them. Whenever possible, use local guides, local businesses and eat locally grown food.
- Flights. If you’re going to travel, the likelihood is you need to hop on a plane. So choose a carrier that offers a less carbon intensive route or newer more efficient planes, using free tools on the internet (look for things like “emits 13% less CO2 than other routes” when bookings.) Are there alternatives to internal flights?*
- Slow down, stay a little longer. Less internal movement = less carbon. Choose an itinerary that meanders, rather than rushes through an area. Slow is pro!
- Book your holiday with a sustainable operator who cares about the country you’re visiting, who prioritises working with local communities and who can demonstrate how they’re working with hotels, suppliers and colleagues to make positive change.
Ultimately, sustainability isn’t about not travelling. It’s about having a positive impact when you do travel.
Travel is a force for good.
We’ll beat that drum until it breaks, then we’ll fix it (sustainable…) and thwack it some more.
Your money goes to lots of good things. And even more so if you’re careful where you spend it.
ENDS.
Word count: 354.
The upsell: book with Fleewinter and we’ll make sure your money does as much good as possible, while you have a bloody brilliant holiday.
Top Travel Tip
*Cheeky addition to the word count: for an internal flight of less than an hour, chances are there's a land route that'll take less time when you factor in check in, transfer to and from the airport, and waiting for bags...