Spending your vacation in a different place can make you feel alive, stress-free, peaceful, and most importantly, glad that you exist to experience all the pleasures of life. In short, traveling can give you a lot of epiphanies that might have a tremendous impact on you. You can have memories that last for the rest of your life.
No doubt that some places can leave you a lot more than memories, but pause, think – what are the things you’re leaving behind? How can you impact the places and the people who live in the place? Are you making a bigger impact on their environment than your memories?
Don’t fool yourself saying – Nothing. The impact of your choices is significant upon several people. That’s what ethical traveling is about. It’s about being mindful of your choices and their consequences on other parties.
For instance, you might love to go for an elephant ride, but did you ever wonder as to what it does to the animal’s life? If you think about it, you’re only encouraging animal abuse without realization.
Ergo, the takeaway is that ethical travel is being conscious and considerate while making travel choices. So, if you want to follow the righteous path, here are a few tips that can help.
10 tips for ethical travel
1. Support local businesses
By availing services of big international brands, you are only making the rich richer. Not only that, you are contributing to an
Every demand that these international brands get, is followed by excessive exploitation and consumption of natural resources – such as fuel for transportation.
Having said that, opting for local services – such as dining in a local restaurant, and shopping from local markets would, etc. – this will be a relatively sustainable choice. You’ll be also aiding such ventures financially. Not only are you supporting the local economy to continue for future generations to enjoy, you also often times get to live and experience the location like a local, my favorite way to travel.
2. Use resources consciously
Traveling doesn’t mean you get to use resources limitlessly. You might not be charged for extra consumption but you will definitely consume resources excessively that we do not have in abundance, to begin with. This includes your hotel’s AC,
Our first experience with this was when we traveled to Mo’orea for the first leg of our honeymoon in 2015. We had to insert our room key into a slot by the door to have the electricity come on otherwise it didn’t work. It made us more conscious of the energy we were using and reminded us that when we left the room, everything would turn off. This was our cute little hut! –>
Sometimes, it’s the little things that make the biggest difference.
3. Embrace local culture
Everything is not about money; it’s about respect that you owe to the culture you are a part of when you are traveling. Embracing local culture might not affect you tremendously, but it will, to the locals. They will not only be happier, and smiling, but they will be aided financially if you are supportive of their culture.
So, every time you are traveling, have a taste of the culture you are in. Even if it is as simple as trying their authentic dishes, going to tours, engaging with them, or indulging in cultural activities.
4. Respect the wildlife
Sometimes it can be a tug of war between respecting a culture and respecting the wildlife. In that case, go with wildlife. For instance, in some cultures, camel rides, elephant rides are considered integral, but they are also animal abuse – you can’t support that, can you?
5. Look what you can give out
When you are traveling, it’s a great idea to give tips to those who serve you. You can of course support them financially –
6. Learn the language and respect the culture
Perhaps learning the local language would not be beneficial for you. But it’s okay. You can simply learn the language out of respect for the culture. With all the technological advances, downloading an app to help you translate or even learn the language of the place you are visiting is very easy. It even helps people, like my husband, who hasn’t ever spoken a word other than English to understand at the very least, what they are eating.
7. Be mindful of somebody’s privacy and convenience
I know meeting different people, being a part of different cultures can be exotically exciting; but being mindful of people’s privacy is equally important. You cannot do things at your convenience – this includes clicking photographs of people without their permission, bargaining beyond a limit, asking locals for favors they might not be up for.
8. Book tours
When you want to know about a culture, tours are your best shot. Thus, if you decide to take tours, go for local operators or family-owned companies to make sure the funds can be used by the local community.
A great way to experience the local culture is by booking with a local, and you can do so even easier than before with AirBnB Experiences
9. Buy souvenirs
When you buy souvenirs, you do more than just taking a piece of memory with you. You support local artists and vendors that
Our favorite souvenirs to buy are wine, coffee, honey, chocolates, nuts, and actual things we can consume and enjoy back at home with family and friends about and share about our experience when we were traveling. It helps bring a sense that those around us were also included in the travel, and creates a memory for them. Not just a t shirt or stuffed animal that they will soon grow out of.
10. Be polite to the locals
Politeness is an underrated quality. Nonetheless, it is what you should do when you are engaging with locals. While you are at it, it’s equally essential to watch your body language than words and tone. Sometimes, even when you don’t intend to, your body language can make you look different. That’s the last thing you would want, right? So be mindful of every word, and every expression.
Before we leave,
Cheers to you if you already follow these tips and identify yourself as an ethical traveler. If you do not, it’s okay as long as you’re willing to make a change. Remember, it’s important to ensure you are leaving the place you visit as good or even better when you leave than when you arrived. We want travel to be sustainable and ethical for years and generations to come, so make sure to keep that in mind when traveling.
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