Eco-Friendly Trips: Seeing the World Without Trashing It

Have you ever thought what impact your touring and traveling have on the environment? Millions, Billions, Trillions of people travel the globe daily by various modes like planes, trains and automobiles, and it creates tonnes/ piles of waste as well as carbon emissions.

We can make our traveling sustainable by improving or correcting it. Now-a-days, ecotourism industry is on BOOM. It is been emphasized on reducing the negative environmental impacts of travel. Each and every traveler can take several simple steps to make trip more clean and green, thus sustainable.

So, plan your vacation or journey with these simple eco-friendly tips.

1. Traveling the eco-friendly way takes a bit of planning.

• Always pack with sustainability in mind like pack your bag with reusable articles, not use-n- throw. Do not think to use plastic one many hotels provide.
• Always carry a water bottle, so that you can refill it wherever you get fresh water. Don’t let yourself to buy water plastic bottles.
• While there’s little that can be done about emissions from airplanes, one can choose greener alternative.
• During booking a hotel room ask for eco-friendly trends like hotel practices, reusing linen articles, trash segregation, gentle reminders for guests to turn off electricity gadgets before leaving room, or auto off options when guests leave or lock the room.
• When shopping, try to carry a cloth big bag to avoid buying extra plastic bags from the stores or malls. Always try to decline, if shoppers provide you the plastic carry bag to advertise their venue.

2. On arrival, it’s time to get out and see the sights!

• Be selective with which activities you opt into. Some, such as off-road ATV driving, damage the environment greatly. Try to steer clear of activities that leave environmental scars. Look for travel and activity planning companies that give back to the area they serve.
• Try to have the majority of your meals at locally owned restaurants versus chains. No one says to opt for fancy restaurant. Strive to avoid food waste by ordering only what you know you can eat. Consider portion size also. Do not copy for same dish twice.
• Instead of renting a car, utilize public transport to cut emissions. Many popular tourist destinations have excellent public transit systems.
• While it’s tempting, try to resist the urge to take home those mini bottles of shampoo and other products the hotels provide. That way, you can cut plastic waste. If space permits, bring your own toiletries from home.
• Don’t overlook the value of exploring your destination by foot either. Walking releases no carbon emissions at all and permits you to truly explore the sights in detail. In addition, you’ll burn off that big dinner you had the night before!
• However, remember to tread lightly in nature areas. Stay on maintained and marked trails to avoid trampling native vegetation. You’ll protect the area’s flora this way and avoid getting lost as an added perk.

3. Go for an Extra Mile

• Sustainability involves giving back as much as you spend. Sometimes, it may take the form of volunteering to restore a local nature area or educating locals about sustainable practices. Other times, giving back may be as easy as reaching for your credit card.
• Calculate the carbon footprint of travel , and donate an amount up to or equal to the amount of your trip to a group dedicated to protecting the environment if you can afford to do so.

Nobody wants to give up travel, and indeed, doing so would result in lost opportunities to explore our magnificent world and interact with different cultures. By planning ahead and choosing sustainable options when possible, you can still roam if you want to while protecting the one planet we all have to share.

By: Dr. Bhawana Asnani.

Happy to see Reviews, Additions, Suggestions and Comments, further.