TIPS THAT ARE OF PRIME IMPORTANCE WHEN IT COMES TO RESPONSIBLE TRAVELLING…

Seeing as though I’m about to embark on a 2 and a half month trip over to South Africa, after what feels like an eternity of waiting, I’m finally packed and ready for an adventure of a lifetime!! I’ve spent the past few weeks, leading up to this trip, doing a bit of my own research of ways that I could travel responsibly whilst manoeuvring my way through the South African sahara. Since i’ve only really just touched base with this topic, I really wanted to take the time and effort over the past few weeks to suss what Responsible Travel and Ethical travel is all about. And Wallah! As an outcome, I have compiled an abundance of my own responsible travel tips and advice that i’ll be sticking myself to and encrypting into my course of action to ensure that I travel with a positive influence on the people, wildlife and mother nature around me.

So, how can one travel responsibly?

Do you know what would be insanely stupendous? If we could travel the world, have the time of our lives. And in spite of that, create positive change for the environments, wildlife and locals that we encounter. Well, guess what? WE CAN!

Travelling responsibly is honestly one of the easiest things you can do. A lot of people are resistant to take up this style of travel because of a common misconception being that there’s too much to compromise and give up but that misinterpretation would only be realistic if we were to live in a 100% perfect and flawless world. But we don’t. Considering the fact that transport isn’t as environmentally sound as it is, we cannot travel 100% responsibly and sustainability simply because that’d mean we wouldn’t be able to travel at all. So there’s no need to worry about how much you can or can’t do. We’re only human, as much as we strive to be perfect, we will never be, BUT one thing we can do, is that we can always try. It’s all about doing what you can and making sure you do it with your absolute best potential. It only takes minimal changes to create a travel style that is so much more valuable to yourself, the local communities, wildlife, culture and environment.

Here’s a few easy and handy tips on how make travel more sustainable for your next trip!

• Research before you take off! 

  Travelling with understanding and respect earns you respect. Get to know as much as you can about the cultures, people and places you are heading to visit. Educating ourselves about certain places and cultures help to enrich our own travel experiences and make them more insightful. It allows you to be knowledgable on the ‘do’s and don’ts’ and the ‘wrongs and rights’ of a local  community. Familiarising yourself with the local lingo and culture is a great gateway to connecting with locals and gaining deeper insight from an authentic perspective. It’ll also save you the stress of creating any unwanted problems between yourself and locals.

  Research background information on tour operators/companies, accommodation services. Know who and what your money is supporting. 

  Transitioning into a responsible traveller will turn you into a researching pro! Keeping your curiosity alive, you’ll find yourself constantly thinking and researching while on the go. It’s important to make sure you research about tour operators and businesses before you commit to paying them your tourist dollars for their services. Responsible Tourism is only growing and becoming more and more common amongst travellers these days, this means that businesses are trying to convert to a more ethical and sustainable approach in regards to their services they provide. But how can we truely trust that what these businesses are preaching is true?

  My advice is to question everything. Don’t hold back your desire for answers, because chances are that you will come across numbers of tour operators and tourist businesses who exploit the responsible/ethical travel niche only for the money in that’s in your pocket. Don’t be fooled by this greenwashing act! For those who don’t know what ‘Greenwashing‘ is, it’s when organisations, businesses and tour operators pretty much spend an abundance of money and time on marketing and advertisements to boost up their social status to attract tourists. These businesses will label themselves as ‘green’ and ‘ethical’ but in fact the money they earn is spent more on marketing schemes rather than towards the improvement of environmental and ethical issues.  So, when in doubt, suss it out!! 

• Live like a local.

  Learn the local language, or at least the bare minimum!

  Have a crack at learning the local language. Even if you’re shit at it, have fun and let loose. Even just being able to say casual phrases like ‘Hello’, ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ will get you a long way. This small special effort is something that doesn’t just get shrugged off, locals greatly appreciate it. And they’ll make sure you know it, usually with a big smile or laugh and a VERY solid pat on the back. Show the locals that your interested about their language and how it shapes their country and makes it, well, incredible. I mean, what have you got to lose? Other than a little bit of your dignity… Absolutely nothing at all! So why not? Immerse yourself within the culture and take it head on with your best potential. Have fun with it!

  Eat at local, family-owned/run, vendors, eateries.

  We can all agree that nothing tastes better than a home-cooked meal. If you’re wanting to experience true and enticeful traditional food, skip buying that packet of processed food and go down to a street vendor/eatery and delve into a meal enriched with pure authentic culture.

  Accomodate yourself at family-owned hostels and BNB’s. Stray away from fancy resorts and 5 star hotels. 

  When we choose to accomodate ourselves at luxurious city-based 5 start hotels and resorts, it heavily takes away the opportunity we have to really get to know a place whole-fully down to it’s core. Sure, resorts may be fancy and full of relaxation alongside incredible cocktails but they aren’t what the country is all about. They lack authenticity of culture. Find yourself a family-owned bed and breakfast or a little cosy hostel. Not only will you be putting your money back into local economies, you’ll also be providing locals with opportunities to work and earn AND you’ll meet plenty of like-minded travellers who are down for a bottle of cheap rum or 3 and some quality laughs.

  Hire local guides as oppose to the bigger and more well-known tour operators. 

  Hiring local guides keeps locals employed and also gives them the opportunity to express the pride they have for their country. Learning about the history and culture from a local’s perspective compared to a mass marketed tour operator run by westerners, to say the least, is a lot more insightful, exciting and raw.

  Buy products that are locally sourced. 

  Try support local run businesses in everything you do. Steer away from the big chain restaurants, franchises and companies. The more low-key and casual it is, the better. You’ll be putting your money towards the people and communities who need it most, helping the local economy to keep growing and to help build brighter and better futures for people of the community. 

  Try to purchase souvenirs and products that are locally made, these people put in their time, effort and valuable resources compared to those bigger tourist stores that purchase bulk produced products and souvenirs to sell.

•  Avoid giving money to beggars, especially children.

  I know, with the amount of guilt we feel heaving on our shoulders, it’s hard not to give in. And sometimes we do it from the goodness of our own hearts because we feel like it’s a good deed. Whether it’d be a child beggar on the street, a disabled child, a parent with an injured or sick child in their arms, as difficult as it may be, we must hold back and not take pity on them when they try to attract our sympathy.

  Although it’s a little disheartening and makes us feel like horrible people for intentionally being ignorant, in the bigger picture, it’s the right thing we can do. What most people/travellers don’t realise is that majority of the time, the vulnerable children we meet on the streets whom are ushering us to buy their handmade anklets or handmade crafts, are unfortunately victims of child trafficking. Most travellers aren’t aware of their true purpose out on the streets and what goes on behind it all, especially when they don’t earn what’s expected of them.

  When we give to beggars, we don’t make their situation any less worse, we only encourage them to keep this routine going and it prevents them from grasping the opportunity to go to school for education or applying for adequate work, which in turn dooms them into a life of poverty and misery. The more we give to street beggars, the more it becomes a ‘practical’ way of life for them, meaning we’ll only be creating and seeing more beggars on the streets.

  There are always more ethical and beneficial ways to support children and families in need, this can include donating to charities and organisations that genuinely support the matter and are not-for-profit based organisations.

• Avoid animal-based activities/interactions that exploit and abuse.

  Did you know that 75% of wildlife tourist activities are having a negative impact on wild animals? – Refer to World Animal Protection for more information.

  Think before you act, especially when it comes to deciding what unique and ‘once in a lifetime’ adventures you want to experience throughout your travels. Using animals for tourist entertainment has become an act that is corrosively growing within the tourism industry. And that’s not a positive thing.  Try to avoid any activity that involves the use of animals for entertainment purposes. Animals are simply not commodities and were not born to be stolen form their natural habitats to provide entertainment.

  Activities you should avoid include: viewing animal performances at markets, visiting zoos and animal parks, and most crucially, hands on interactions like: swimming with dolphins, sea turtles, whales, riding elephants, camels, horses, selfies with tigers, walking lions and the list unfortunately goes on. This includes activities like bull runs and cockfights. Always remember that culture is not an excuse for cruel acts. There is an excruciating amount of harm being done to these animals but all of that remains hidden to the tourist eye, and the reason for that is to keep tourist cash flow coming in. It’s terrible to think that some tour organisations care more about profits than the actual well-being and health of the animals within their care. Half an hour spent ‘trekking’ on an elephant, whom had been beaten into submission, or a 4 second photo of you patting a tiger, whom was bred in captivity and neglected, is not worth the lifelong amount of misery that they endure in return. 

  Another useful tip is to be very skeptical of tour organisations that do use animals to attract and lure tourists in exchange for money. A fair few will tell you they’re ethical organisations that aim to ‘conserve and protect’ wildlife, but if you’re having to pay to view an animal that’s kept in captivity, that’s pretty much classifying them as tourist attractions. So always ask for information about their practices and if you’re not convinced, take a step further and ask for proof or evidential data that supports their ethical and conservational claims. 

  Instead of heading to a zoo, or park to view confined and captive animals, take the time and effort out to research some eco-friendly sanctuaries that actually work towards the conservation and protection/rehabilitation of wildlife. As responsible travellers, it’s our responsibility to ensure we are making informed choices and supporting the right organisations. There are genuine rescue parks and sanctuaries that work to provide a life of care and protection for wildlife and rescued animals in need. We live in a world where we have access to information within the click of a button, excuses can only go so far now a days. 

  The only way we can combat the cruelty of animals faced within tourist attractions is to stop attending them all together and educate other people and travellers about the reality that these confined and pained wildlife animals endure. Because most of the time, tourists and travellers will take part in these activities simply because they ‘love’ animals but have no awareness of the amount of cruelty these animals face. Report any abusive behaviour on wildlife that you witness and if you believe there’s no animal-welfare policies in place, report it to local authorities. 

• Respect the environment. And Minimise your waste. “Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints.” 

  Respecting the environment shouldn’t be a behaviour that we only adopt when we are in our own homes, we should take the responsibility anywhere and everywhere that we go.  Always pick up after yourself and maintain a clean environment. Recycle and reuse when you can and be cautious of energy and water consumption. Eat in, rather than purchasing take out. When purchasing goods or groceries, use a cloth bag that is reusable or simply store it within your backpack instead of opting for a plastic bag which pollutes and creates danger for the earth and wildlife. Take short showers. Hang up towels and clothes to air dry. Remember to turn off powerpoints when not in use. Try to keep consumption of resources to a minimum.

  When we look after the environment, not only do we help to keep mother nature and wildlife away from harm but we leave a positive impression on locals, and in turn they remain satisfied and happy with travellers visiting their countries.  By putting this into practice, we grasp the opportunity to make it a healthy habit. 

• Reduce your carbon footprint.

  Use public transport rather than hiring a private car or hopping into a taxi. The more motorised vehicles we use, obviously the more carbon emissions we release into the atmosphere. Try hire a bike or even walk if the distant is convenient for you and not too far to travel, take it as an opportunity to burn off those well earned holiday carbs! Plus, viewing the destination seems a lot more exciting upfront rather than from behind a windshield.

  When we commute VIA public transport, chances are we’ll have more opportunity to meet new people, other travellers and locals thus giving us the chance to grow our circle of friends. Plus you’ll also be saving yourself a few bucks. So it’s a win win kinda situation!

• Travel slowly and tread lightly.

  There is no need to rush. Take your time and pace yourself. Let yourself absorb it your surroundings and just enjoy the ride. Panicking and rushing from A to B will create a lot of unnecessary and unwanted hassle and stress. And no-one wants to stress on a holiday!!

  Pack lightly, you’ll save yourself a lot more money having to pay for less baggage  weight and you won’t find yourself having to deal with the pain of hauling a 30kg backpack around. Packing to a minimum also assists with the increase of plane fuel efficiency meaning less fuel is required to carry lighter luggage, furthermore reducing carbon emissions!  

  Be adventurous and escape off the well beaten path but stick to marked trails when you do. Carry light packs and watch your step, trails are marked for a reason, that is to avoid destroying or harming native flora and fauna and to prevent causes of erosion form occuring. Native flora and fauna depending on what kind, can sometimes take years and years to grow so it’s vital we tread with care and caution. 

• Respect culture and religious beliefs.

  Remember, you are the visitor. Show respect and in return you’ll be respected. Stick to the local customs, dress respectively and modestly. Not only do you abide by local standards but you avoid total embarrassment and feelings of  unease! Make sure you do your study to avoid the chance of offending locals. Tip: Travel with a scarf or jacket in your backpack, that way when you do find yourself needing to cover up, you’ve got it sorted!

  Keeping an open mind and an open heart is vital when it comes to eliminating cultural biases. We are so blessed to live in a world where there is so much beautiful and intriguing culture and history behind places, people and things. Travelling without judgment and mutual understanding of one another gives us the golden chance to break down barriers and  mingle with local people where both parties are in favour of exchanging learning lessons about culture and history. Engaging enhances our travels. Become one with the culture and seize the day!

   

  And there you have it! Not as difficult as you thought, right?!

  I’m still well on the road to becoming a better and more educated responsible traveller, but I plan to refer to these tips to help guide me through my travel endeavours. I hope, in some way, my advice and tips have enlightened your desire to travel responsibly and with nothing but good intentions too!

  Remember, the key ingredient to a beautiful, untouched, and healthy world, is YOU. The whole fate of the planet is in the hands of our very own. Don’t forget it!

  If you have any other tips/travel advice that I may have missed out on, please feel free to comment and share!

  Happy Travelling Folks!