Being a conscious traveler means creating positive impact and reduces negative impact while traveling. The very first step is understanding that eco-friendly travel, also known as eco travel or sustainable travel (among other terms), is NOT a type of travel or a niche the way, say, cruising or safaris are. You can apply the below sustainable travel tips to every trip you take. The second step is approaching sustainability in travel with the progress over perfection mindset. You can make a few informed decisions at any stage of your eco-friendly vacation, from the planning process to actually being there and even after you’ve returned home, that will create a positive impact on both people and planet. 

As a travel writer and professional trip planner it’s my mission to educate my audience and my clients about how to positively impact the planet while having the trip(s) of a lifetime.

Sustainable travel tips for the aspiring conscious traveler

The following list of easy sustainable travel tips is for conscious, mindful people who already know the basics. Hopefully you’re already reducing your consumption of single use plastics by carrying a water bottle, and reducing your carbon footprint through carbon offsets or carbon storage programs. 

One barrier for many travelers in being more eco-friendly is a misconception that sustainability involves overhauling the way you travel completely or foregoing what you really want to do. It actually can start with simple steps and small decisions. There is also some confusion about where the power lies. Yes, you need better options from hotels, tour operators, and airlines. But you already have so much power as a traveler. Read on for five simple sustainable travel tips and then go ahead and start calling yourself an official eco-traveler.

1. Understand the Benefits of Sustainable Tourism

Before changing habits or implementing sustainable practices, if you understand WHY you should do this, you’ll probably find it a lot easier to grasp HOW to do it. Sustainable tourism supports, protects, and respects the natural environment, the local economy, and the socio-cultural aspects of the destination. The benefits of sustainable travel are both immediate and longterm.

When tourism is more sustainable, travelers have the opportunity to make a positive impact on wildlife conservation and ensure animals like elephants, rhinos, mountain gorillas, and tigers are still around in the next century. You can directly contribute to the success of local business entrepreneurs who don’t otherwise have a lot of access to economic opportunity. You can help ensure the preservation of unique cultures, languages, religions, and ceremonies that diversify the world, and make visiting a new place so special.

2. Research and Choose Your Destination Carefully

When I was a younger, less experienced traveler I used to choose countries and cities to visit and show up without having learned about the destination ahead of time. This is a big faux pas. One of the best things you can do to be a responsible traveler is approach your trip knowing that you are a visitor, and learn about the local culture, customs, and history. I don’t mean study the names of past and present political leaders or know the stories behind historic monuments. I mean, understand how your own everyday behaviors, and your presence alone, might impact the people and place.

For example, here are some questions you can ask about the destination:

Has there been a recent natural disaster or political conflict?

If locals are still picking up the pieces after a hurricane, earthquake, volcanic eruption, etc, find out if tourism will just create added strain on the place. On the other hand, once ready it’s likely that the destination could use tourism business more than ever. I wrote an article about how to be a sustainable traveler in times of crisis, if you want to read more.

What customs exist that are different from my own?

It’s important to understand if certain practices might be seen as disrespectful to the local residents and their culture. For example, in Nepal it’s considered inappropriate to show too much skin (knees and shoulders for women) in many traditional situations including when visiting local temples. In some other Asian countries it’s considered rude to offer a handshake. In Turkey, you have to find the right way to decline food from a host or you may cause offence. Every place is different and a quick internet search or your travel advisor can offer some insight.

Is there a problem with overtourism?

When too many visitors flock to a single destination it can cause all kinds of problems including environmental erosion (Venice), water shortage, trash management (Thailand), endangerment of wildlife (the Galapagos), ruining ruins (Machu Picchu). Not only are you potentially negatively affecting the destination but your own experience can suffer too. When I visited Angkor Wat I was shocked at how crowded it was, even though I got up before the sun to be there at sunrise. It was impossible to take a photo, much less find a moment of quiet amongst the stunning ruins, without almost getting hit by a selfie stick.

Consider alternative destinations to the ones you hear about the most. It’s better for everyone. There are beautiful beaches in Mexico that aren’t in Tulum.

3. Shop Local – seek out locally-owned restaurants, shops and hotels

It doesn’t matter whether your trip budget is $1000 or $100,000…your dollars (or other currency) have the potential for positive impact. Many travelers are shocked when they hear the statistic that in the multi-billion dollar tourism industry, on average only 5% stays in the local economy. This is called tourism leakage. But you don’t need to dive into industry jargon. As a traveler, all you need to know is how to help close that gap. Here are a few suggestions: 

• Book a hotel that is locally owned vs. an international chain
• Eat at a local restaurant rather than at your resort
• Purchase souvenirs from a local craftsperson
• Hire a guide and/or driver with a local tour company
• Book authentic cultural experiences offered by locals like cooking classes, bicycle tours, etc

If you’re mindful of where you spend your dollars when you’re at home, do the same thing while you’re on a trip. Another similar concept is “vote with your wallet.” Also remember the progress-over-perfection mindset. You can stay at the five star brand name hotel if that’s what your heart desires. You could do a little research and find out about their sustainability practices. Do they hire locals and/or do they have programs in place to support the local community? What does their environmental footprint look like – did they respect the ecosystem when they built the property? Still not the right answers? OK, then consider the other ways to pump your money into the local economy through shopping and eating.

4. Be considerate about photography and videography

This tip is not just aimed at professional or aspiring professional content creators like Instagrammers or bloggers or TikTok celebrities. The vast majority of everyday travelers want to bring home a record of their trip to show friends and family. Many of us are now equipped with high quality cameras and video capabilities through our phones and other easily accessible equipment. You may be tempted to take photos or videos of every stimuli that you encounter, but it’s not always ethical to do so.

In general, you can follow these simple rules for ethical content creation:

• Do not take pictures of children without consent from parents. This can be complicated, because in many places around the world children absolutely love interacting with foreigners and they actively seem to want their picture taken. It can actually feel heartbreaking not to engage with them. If you do choose to go ahead with taking a few snaps, include the child in the experience by showing them the photos on your phone or device. Be respectful (do not ever tell them what to do or treat them like it’s their job to entertain you!). If there IS a parent or supervising adult like a teacher around, definitely ask them and include them in the interaction too.

• Following the above note, these considerations apply to adults as well, especially if you’re in a developing country where living conditions may not be ideal. In Nepal I visited a refugee camp where there were a group of women weavers. Watching them make their crafts was awesome and it provided a peek into a living experience so different from mine. We asked permission to take photos and then as we did so we shared them with the women and had a really meaningful experience.

• In the moment, the key is to ask yourself WHY you’re taking the photos. And when you return home, think twice about how you share the photos you took of people or other sensitive situations. When you post unsolicited photos of disadvantaged people or scenes of poverty stricken areas on social media you are perpetuating stereotypes. This is harmful behavior that strips people of their dignity. On the other hand, if you had permission, like we did with the women weavers of Tashiling Resettlement Camp in Nepal, by sharing the photos and their stories you might raise awareness about a social justice issue. It’s not always black and white, but if you take a moment to think and ask, you’ll be headed in the right direction.

5. Beware of voluntourism

I prefer to focus on the DOs rather than the DON’ts, but the basic don’ts are fairly simple. In general, volunteering and vacations are not a good mix. As a basic rule, if you do not have a skill to offer a community in need of that specific skill, then you should not be volunteering.

If you’re a doctor or a nurse, or an experienced teacher, or community organizer, there may be opportunities for you to travel and volunteer your services. But you should not go to Thailand and volunteer in an orphanage. You should not spend one week in a rural destination teaching English if you have no experience. Also, in general, you should not spend a day painting a house, or doing any other job that a local person could be paid to do. You could be taking economic opportunity away from someone who needs a job. Additionally, there can be scammy, disreputable organizations looking to bleed money from western tourists. Often NONE of those funds go into helping anything in the destination in question. 

Voluntourism is a huge issue to tackle, and impossible to summarize in brief. If you want to learn more check out these resources or this book by my friend Pippa Biddle called Ours to Explore. 

6. Avoid wildlife interactions (usually!)

Wildlife tourism is another complicated topic. There is SO much good happening at the intersection of tourism and conservation. For example, I went gorilla trekking in Uganda. It was a magical experience AND it is a prime example of sustainable wildlife tourism. And while you should never ever ride an elephant, there IS such a thing as a reputable, ethical elephant sanctuary. The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya for example is widely considered one of the best. But many of those so-called sanctuaries in Asia and Africa treat their animals terribly. In general you should ask if there is any onsite breeding… if the answer is yes this is almost certainly an unethical business.

Swimming with dolphins or sharks is also controversial and more often than not a bad idea. The first question you can ask is – do they bait the animals? If the animals are being manipulated in any way to create entertainment, this is a big NO. However, there are ethical operators out there. Swimming with wild dusky dolphins in New Zealand is fine, for example.

The role of the eco traveler now and in the future

Ask questions. Make informed decisions. That’s really all there is to it. If you’re not sure you have the right answer or you feel overwhelmed, your travel advisor or tour operator should have the answers. If they don’t have the answers this is a big red flag for the provider you’re using.

The more travelers ask for better, more eco-friendly, socially impactful hotels, tours, travel experiences, the more options there will be. Take this from me, someone who works in the industry: the lack of sustainable travel options comes from a misconception that not enough consumer travelers want them. If you care, make it known.