Have you ever thought about making a real change in the world? We have all heard about the famous “make a baby, plant a tree, write a book”. In the 3.0 version of the popular saying we should add “…write a book and choose to be a responsible travel”.
What’s a responsible traveller?
To answer to this questions we have to define what’s “sustainable tourism” (something you may heard about in the last past few years), and also revise the difference between being a “tourist” or a “traveler”.
Are you a tourist or a traveller?
While both, tourists and travelers, like to trote the globe, the former are likely no to fully immerse in the traditions and culture of locals, and the last, they definitely go for it! Thus, travelers are (or at least they should be!) more aware on how to interact with the environment they are visiting, a concept closely related to “sustainable tourism” and “responsible travel”.
Sustainable tourism: when you’re a mindful and educated person
To go on a sustainable trip is to be fully conscious of the place and the culture we’re visiting. If you keep that in mind you’ll be able to help encouraging the local industry and respect the traditions of the city, beach or mountaineering village you’re visiting.
Are you suspecting you have always been a sustainable tourism supporter? Answer our travel quiz to be definitely sure!
A) When your belly growls … Do you choose to buy that yummy vegan homemade sandwich from the street vendor or you just go directly to the first Green Eat store you can find?
- love to eat homemade food, chat with local vendors and find out details about the food traditions of the place I’m visiting.
- I like to eat big chain’s plates that I’ve already know I love!
B) When you’re visiting a new place, would you rather adapt to its customs and traditions or just keep on doing things the way you usually do?
- No, I generally do a little research before travelling, get informed about if there are any dress restrictions and learn some useful words in the original language of the place I’m visiting.
- I don’t care much about adapting: I prefer to discover new places but keep on behaving like I do at home.
C) When traveling, you’re aware of waste management?
- Yes, I always bring with me a reusable water bottle and put my purchasings in my backpack.
- Not really: I always buy bottle water and don’t refuse plastic bags if they are offered in a shop.
If most of your answers hitted “1” then your intuition was right! You’re a responsible traveler and now you’re in to improve your inborn traveler skills!
But, guess what? If you have occasionally slipped into the “2” answers, you can still be a responsible traveler while doing tourism.
Being responsible and aware of our traveling choices doesn’t have to lead us to do only low-budgets trips or renounce to thing you wanted to do. It’s more about making the right choices and be aware of the impact of your decisions while traveling. For e.g:
- If you want to travel with a local tour company, make sure they are environmentally responsible. The same with the hotels you choose to stay. A good way to save money and still have a deluxe experience (as well as immersive) is stay at a local house. There’re many options from simple cozy houses or incredible fancy ones!
- Respect people in the street.
- Interact with the local fauna in a friendly, non invasive way.
- Take beautiful and perfect photos of your amazing adventures to rock in your social media channels, but don’t forget to enjoy the landscape first, get a grip of the situation and pay attention to details, cause those are the truly lasting pictures you’ll take with you forever.
We can be the best responsible travelers just doing any of these little efforts! And always keeping in mind that popular golden rule that teach us to treat others as we would love to be treated.
To start expanding your Responsible Traveller soul you can check our website and plan your South America Vacations
Written by: Agustina del Vigo
