5 Ways to Be a Responsible Traveler

Responsible Travel and Sustainability are buzzwords at the moment but these are not fads that should fade away. These are adjustments necessary for long term viability of the travel industry, of humanity and of our planet! Sound dramatic enough for ya?  Well, I happen to feel very strongly that we as humans have some destructive habits that we need to break. I am NOT the least bit perfect, nor an expert, but as a frequent traveler, learner, and avid reader, I have picked up some tips that can get anyone started on the road to be a responsible traveler! I know there are tons of posts out there on this topic but I’m going to give it to you straight in the mildly acerbic and blunt Wandering Redhead way I hope you have come to rely on.

What is Responsible Travel?

This is an umbrella term covering many different topics including environmental responsibility, animal welfare, and respect to local populations to name a few.  Essentially it’s traveling in a way that doesn’t cause harm, being aware of our effect on the people and place we visit and always trying to learn and improve.

I will split the bigger topics into subtopics so you will get more than just 5 tips here folks. Ooh I deceived you with that title huh?  Tricky tricky!

Why Does it Matter?

Well, nobody wants to be an asshole, right? This is basically a list of how not to be an asshole tourist. Respect of locals and the lands you visit should be a given, but sadly we all see things that show us that common sense ain’t too common! Some people may need a gentle nudge in the right direction on this front…or maybe a kick in the rear.

It matters because as tourism continues to increase, we will have an exponential effect on the places we visit.   We should be making places better by traveling there, not worse. We should be ambassadors for our home countries, showing others that what they see in the news doesn’t necessarily represent all of us. Our tourist dollars shouldn’t support industries that harm the local ecosystem, local economy or exploit people or animals. It’s kind of A LOT.

1.  Only Support Ethical Animal Tourism

You all know by now that this is my passion and the subtopic of responsible travel that I probably know the most about.  Guys, we all love cute animals. We want to see them, touch them, take pictures with them. I get it. However, most of the interactions available to tourists are HORRIBLE for the animals that we love. I think the big question to ask every time you consider paying money to do anything with wild animals is “Does the interaction help the animal in any way?”

This is one of the EASIEST ways to be a responsible traveler. Just don’t do these things! There are too many animal-related topics to cover in this post but here are a few biggies to avoid. If you need more info please contact me.

Riding Elephants

Just don’t do it. If you don’t know why, you need to come out from under that rock. Elephants are taken as babies and subjected to years of isolation, confinement, beating, intimidation and a general breaking of their spirit known as “phajaan” until their fear of humans allows them to be controlled and forced into doing things that aren’t the least bit natural to them. If an elephant is doing tricks and entertaining you, it has been abused. Plain and simple. Elephants in nature live in close family groups and are depressed and lonely without their families. It is a horrible life being an elephant in the tourist industry.

Petting Tigers

Think about this one. Tigers are alpha predators used to living solitary lives in the jungle. Also, they are endangered. What part of posing with a sleepy tiger in a small concrete enclosure sounds normal to you? It doesn’t make you look cool, FYI.  Baby tigers are torn from their mothers when they’re just weeks old, allowing her to resume “speed-breeding,” producing even more cubs for people to photograph. Tigers are starved and if they make a “mistake,” are reprimanded with whips or bamboo sticks. They live a life of confinement and experts can tell they are stressed animals. They are typically sedated for tourist to cuddle and pose with. Furthermore, the breeding of all these tiger cubs may be contributing to the illegal trafficking of tiger body parts

It all literally disgusts me. Even the dating app Tinder won’t let you put tiger selfies with on the site. Folks, when Tinder has better standards than most social media sites, it’s a sad state of affairs.  Sites like Trip Advisor (which I detest FYI) still promote these places. Shame Shame Shame!

 

Swimming with Dolphins

This is another huge topic that I will cover briefly. Unless you are in the ocean and wild dolphins come play with you, don’t swim with them. The process of capturing dolphins in the wild is traumatic. They are chased into nets rounded up, lifted up into a boat and transported. Often many die entangled in the nets. Many that aren’t “cute enough” are killed, tossed in the water and left without their families or left in the nets. It is a cruel process.

Cetaceans in captivity are routinely given antibiotics and ulcer medications, are in need of vitamin supplements because they are being fed nutrient-deficient frozen fish and have a history of premature death from a variety of causes. For many dolphins, enclosure sizes are less than 1 percent of their natural habitat range.

In general, this is not a happy life for them whatsoever.

Visiting or Volunteering at Sanctuaries

This is tricky. There are good sanctuaries, but I estimate that these are less than 25% percent of all places that call themselves a sanctuary. This is another buzz term being exploited by the industry. Do your homework before supporting these places. If you are cuddling lion cubs and feeding them from a bottle…why? Where is their mother? Where will they go when they are big? Why are babies being bred in captivity?

[bctt tweet=”Animal entertainment is typically animal cruelty. Learn how to be a responsible traveler. ” username=”redheadcher”]

Basic Pointers

Don’t feed wild animals. Don’t approach wild animals. Doing these things can be dangerous for you and is definitely not good for the animal. Example: I saw people feeding wild baboons in South Africa from their car. A male baboon is stronger than 5 men and has teeth larger than a lion. Do you really think engaging animals like this is a good idea?  Not to mention, once they associate humans with food, they are likely to approach other tourists or locals. These interactions ultimately end badly for the animals and they typically pay with their lives when humans make mistakes.

True Sanctuaries DONT WANT MORE ANIMALS and therefore don’t breed the animals to produce more animal refugees! The ones that do are making money off of them. The good sanctuaries want a future where sanctuaries are not necessary, where wild animals stay wild and should have initiatives in place such as research and community outreach to achieve that goal.

If a place is letting you cuddle and take selfies with potentially dangerous animals…you should immediately be very suspicious. FOR GOD’s SAKE STOP GOING TO THAT DAMN TIGER PLACE IN THAILAND!!!

 

 #2.  Think About Your Impact on Local People

Don’t give gifts or money to begging or “working” children.

It seems cruel not to but this is just a quick fix to a large scale problem. This will encourage them to continue begging rather than going to school thus continuing a cycle of poverty. There are ways to support children in other countries such as donations to schools or community help groups. You can do some research before you travel to find these organizations if you truly want to help. Many tourists like to give children in poor countries candy or pens. Again, give the pens to the school. That candy causes dental problems in a population that likely isn’t getting dental care like you are used to receiving.

Think and Spend Locally

Try to choose independently and locally owned and operated tours, hotels, restaurants, shops. If you book an all-inclusive tour in your home country, who are you really helping in the country you are visiting? If someone from the United States is your tour guide in Uzbekistan, are you really getting the right experience?

Shopping

Buy souvenirs “at the ground level” meaning from the artisans who made the item or who will benefit from your tourist dollars. Buying at the airport or some large tourist shop means you will pay 2-3 times as much and not truly support those who need it most.

Also, when you are in place that bargaining is the custom, be mindful that you may be having fun trying to get the lowest price (and I’m certainly not advocating that you get ripped off), but remember that you may be haggling over the equivalent of less than a dollar.  That extra 30 cents that you don’t think twice about may go far in another country.

Hotels

Hotel chains are hard to avoid sometimes and I am a certified points whore who tries to stay at Marriott hotels at times but I try to balance this with staying in local guesthouses and boutique hotels most of the time. The international chain hotel may not always be bad if they employ local staff. Small hotels or hostels aren’t always great if they employ only expats and backpackers just passing through rather than local people. These are all things to consider.

Some hotels and tour companies may even promote community welfare such as the Omni Hotels & Resorts which donates to Feeding America, providing a meal for a family of four as part of its Say Goodnight to Hunger program. Sage Hospitality, a hotel and restaurant management company with more than 60 hotels nationwide, has raised more than $3.3 million for nonprofit organizations (including the National Children’s Cancer Society, Special Olympics, JDRF Diabetes Foundation and others) since 2002, when it launched its Dollars for Dreams program.

I’m not as familiar with similar projects outside the United States but I’m sure they exist. If anyone knows of any please place in comments!

Tour companies

Choose companies wisely, again looking for those that employ local guides and have community initiatives and eco-friendly practices. G Adventures has established the Planeterra Foundation, a non-profit organization that has contributed millions of dollars towards projects in areas of social enterprise, healthcare, conservation, and emergency response.  Intrepid Travel has the Intrepid Foundation where they support local organizations around the world to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable individuals and communities through sustainable travel experiences. Global Basecamps provides unique off the beaten path activities and locally-owned accommodations beyond the standard. They also strive to benefit the local community and ensure tourism has no negative impacts on the environment, culture and economy of the destinations.

Respect Local People

Treat people with dignity. You are not better than anyone because you come from a richer or more developed country. Don’t take photos of people without their consent. A street scene is one thing but otherwise, always get permission first and make sure they know what you are doing with their photo. Is it going in your blog or on your Instagram? What captions are you putting? We need less poverty porn and less inserting our western narratives into others lives. Most people’s photos depict poor countries with disease and devastation and foster an already problematic narrative about developing nations. Think about this if you are sharing photos of people.

Just imagine if an African tourist (or anyone who isn’t white) wandered through an American neighborhood taking photos of children. Is it ok for you to do the same in their neighborhoods?

*Disclaimer…I once volunteered with refugees as a nurse. I have photos of children with me. These were families I spent time with, knew by name, kept in touch with and they encouraged me to take photos and share their stories. I still was not 100% comfortable sharing their photos and I didn’t share on Instagram.

Volunteering Abroad

This is an extensive and controversial topic that I am going to defer in order to keep this post a reasonable length (too late?).  Two Dusty Travelers have extensive experience in this arena and do a great job of explaining the things you should know and consider before doing any “voluntourism.”

3.  Respecting the Environment

This is a BIGGIE! I think all travelers on some degree must love nature if we are spending time and money to visit a faraway place to see something beautiful. So let’s talk about how we are inadvertently harming those places we love and what to do about it.

Reduction of Single-Use Plastic

Every year, 8 million metric tons of plastics enter our ocean on top of the estimated 150 million metric tons that currently circulate our marine environments. This affects 800 species from the tiniest plankton to the largest whales. Plastic has been found in more than 60% of all seabirds and in 100% of sea turtles species, that mistake plastic for food.  Over 90% of plastic IS NOT RECYCLED.

Chew on those numbers for a bit. If it doesn’t bother you a little then I am not sure why you are here reading this post!!!! Go back to destroying homeless shelters on your way to work.

A Few Tips

• Carry a Reusable Shopping Bag. This can double as a beach bag! These Reger Folding Shopping Bags are machine washable and fold into a wallet size square that weighs less than 0.1 lb! Just keep them in your purse or backpack.
• Carry A Reusable Water Bottle, one with a filter if necessary. I use the Grayl Filter Bottle.
• Bring your own cutlery and straw. I  use this set by To-Go Ware.
• If you end up using plastic, reuse it.  I sometimes forget my reusable water bottle so I buy a plastic water bottle and then reuse it throughout my trip. I reuse ziplock bags by washing them air drying them. You can reuse plastic straws and cutlery as well.
• Bring your own toiletries rather than using the little ones at hotels. These are extremely wasteful. I used to be guilty of collecting these until I knew better.
• For the ladies….don’t use plastic applicator tampons!!

[bctt tweet=”Plastic was found in over 60% of all seabirds and in 100% of sea turtles, that mistake plastic for food.  90% of plastic IS NOT RECYCLED. If it doesn’t bother you then go back to destroying homeless shelters on your way to work.” username=”redheadcher”]

Don’t Waste Resources

Limit your water use for showers and flushing toilets when in developing nations and countries that often suffer from drought conditions. Be mindful of these things. Turn lights off, minimize air conditioning when not in your lodging. The same thing you may do at home to save money will save energy abroad. Do you really need maid service in your hotel room every day? Do you need to use the tiny products the hotel provides? Don’t take them or use them unless you truly need them. Those things contribute to plastic waste as well.

Reconsider Cruise Ship Travel

Cruise ship travel is literally killing places. They carry the equivalent of a small town directly into some of the world’s most beautiful  and vulnerable  ecosystems. Dumping thousands of tourists all at once into tiny ancient cities like Dubrovnik can’t be good. The cruise industry is also responsible for the demand for dolphinariums in the Caribbean (see above about swimming with dolphins).

The cruise industry also produces TONS of waste. Cruise ships generate about 15 gallons of hazardous chemical waste every day, and the people aboard can produce over 200,000 gallons of sewage in a single week. This is often dumped into the ocean as well as the 100 million gallons of petroleum products that seep into the ocean each year. Then there’s air pollution. These ships burn as much fuel as whole towns. Need I go on?

Fly Less

Ok, this one is my kryptonite, my Achilles heel. I fly voraciously. Like many Americans, I don’t have endless travel time to do slow travel or only land crossings that can add weeks to a trip. Not to make lame excuses but we have like, a huge country that is separated from most of the world by two massive oceans.

I’m going to try to be realistic about this since I know that not everybody has the luxury and privilege of time. Maybe consider a longer trip if you flew very far to get somewhere. For example, if you only have a week, don’t fly from New York to Vietnam. This is a waste of that flight. Fly somewhere closer. I try to take more extensive trips if a long flight is required, this way I am not using multiple long flights each year to visit the same region.

Consider driving and train travel within a country if it is available, rather than flying between cities. Sadly train travel can be more expensive than flying in some places, so there are barriers to this as well.

If only I had a dragon!

 

Carbon Offsets

If you can’t do anything else to improve, then offset your carbon. A carbon offset is a credit for greenhouse gas reductions achieved by one party that can be purchased and used to compensate (offset) the emissions of another party. Carbon offsets are typically measured in tonnes of CO2-equivalents. For example, wind energy companies often sell carbon offsets. The company benefits because the carbon offsets it sells make its projects more economically viable. The buyers of the offsets can claim that their purchase resulted in new non-polluting energy.

This is a tricky business full of scams, just like donating to charity is. I urge you to research research research before you spend your money. Offsets from tree-planting projects are popular but problematic for a number of reasons, including their lack of permanence and the fact that these projects do not address our dependence on fossil fuels. Also consider the “additionality” of a project. If the project wouldn’t have happened without the extra funding from the sale of offsets, then it is “additional”.

The Gold Standard is widely considered to be the highest standard in the world for carbon offsets. It ensures that key environmental criteria have been met by offset projects that carry its label and only offsets from energy efficiency and renewable-energy projects qualify since a shift away from fossil-fuel use is the goal. My travels last year, which were substantial, amounted to about $250 of offsets so the average traveler will likely owe much less.

#4 Think About Visiting Less Touristed Places

Overtourism is becoming a huge problem. According to Forbes Magazine, International tourism grew to just over 1.3 billion in 2017, a 6.8% increase from 2016. Overtourism is tricky to define and depends on how the locals in a certain place feel.  Generally, when vacation rentals have driven rent prices too high for locals,  when narrow roads become jammed with tourist vehicles, when tourists cannot view landmarks because of the crowds, when fragile environments are destroyed, this is overtourism.

The travel industry has recently been discussing how tourism is impacting fragile places and how to curb the destructive impact on places like Venice, Machu Picchu, and Iceland. In many places, there are permit systems in place to limit tourist numbers and often they are pricey. I think we will see more places following this path.

If you want to visit madly popular places like Venice, Barcelona, or Santorini, consider the off-season. This is a time when locals will actually benefit from a time they don’t see many tourists and it will likely be a nicer experience for you too.

Again, Reconsider Cruise Ship Travel

Yes, I am picking on cruise ships again.

Thousands of passengers spill out into port cities each day, returning to the ship in time for dinner. Passengers often spend very little in the destinations but add to the crowding of tiny historic streets jamming shops and cafes with people. This is unpleasant for residents as well as for visitors staying on land and spending money locally.

*Disclaimer. I recently took a “cruise” to Antarctica. It was different from standard cruise ship travel in many ways. And feel free to discuss in the comments:)

#5 Be Considerate

I have a bitchy side but even I can handle following a few rules that I consider basic manners.

Respect Other Tourists

You often see me complaining about other tourists and trying to avoid them but the reality is, I’m a tourist too. (I just think I’m better than most since I don’t do the things I’m about to describe.)

Don’t take a photo site hostage with your fashion-selfie-insta-gypsy-mermaid-celeb photo shoot. You know those people. You know what I’m talking about. Don’t be that person.

[bctt tweet=”Don’t take a photo site hostage with your fashion-selfie-insta-gypsy-mermaid-celeb photo shoot. You know those people. You know what I’m talking about. Don’t be that person. Read more tips on how to be a responsible traveler!” username=”redheadcher”]

Other people spent money to come to the same place as you and don’t have an hour to wait for you to finish. If there are other people waiting to take the same picture of the same pretty door or background as you, take a couple of quick photos and move on. If you need oodles of time to twirl properly or pose with your posse, get your ass there early and beat the crowds and take all the time you want. Expecting others to wait for you is selfish.

 

Respect Rules

Your dope Instagram photo is not more important than a centuries-old historical landmark. Don’t break rules and climb on ancient steps or statues just because it will get you a cool photo. We see way too much of this on Instagram. Being an influencer doesn’t make anyone above the rules. Check your ego and privilege at the border, please. When you see signs saying not to go to a certain place, listen to them! Don’t try to hide from guards, go to the edge of the volcano, trample on flowers in a garden, walk on peoples rooftops or all these horrible things entitled tourists do.

[bctt tweet=”Being an influencer doesn’t make anyone above the rules. Check your ego and privilege at the border, please. Read these and other tips to be a responsible traveler.” username=”redheadcher”]

To summarize, by only participating in ethical animal interactions, minding your manners, respecting locals, choosing where you spend your money to maximize good and reducing your carbon footprint, you are doing your part to be a responsible traveler! Yay you!!

Share this and let’s get the message out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Disclaimer:  Wandering Redhead uses affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you that goes towards the cost of maintaining this blog. Thanks for reading!