Traveling is not only great for the body but also for the soul. With people becoming more and more explorative and the world becoming more globalised at a doorstep, tourism is bound to prosper. Nature has unlimited charms but limited resources. Since the demand for travel is growing, there will be pressure on Mother Earth to fulfill it. With every use of natural resources, there is a sure degradation of the environment. It is, therefore, necessary that travel proves sustainable and friendly to nature. Traveling does not mean spending money and spoiling the environment – it means taking steps to improve the environment.
As per data, 60% of air travel is responsible for an extraordinary share in carbon emissions. A single roundtrip flight results in the amount of emissions equivalent to almost half the CO2 emitted by other sources such as lighting, heating, car use, and similar ones consumed by a person per annum. Isn't it devastating? Sustainable travel means not to hurt animals, plants, and all the respective surroundings. After your trip, you must leave nature as it was before.
In this article, I have compiled seven tips for sustainable travel on a budget! Come, let's take a tour.
Failing to plan is planning to fail
Today, the Internet has made a lot of tasks easy for us. It takes a data pack, a phone or a laptop, a few hours, and some efforts to research following your preferences. The saying goes perfectly well in terms of planning before a trip. Your choices may differ from the choices of other people. If you pre-plan, you can search for some eco-friendly hotels or stay options. Check out the things to do in Barcelona and then plan your budget accordingly. You can find out about the culture of the place you are now going to visit and can select your food options accordingly. You can use bikes alternatively to cars if such option is available.
Why not prefer homestay?
Rather than staying in a hotel, you should opt for a homestay. Many travel experts suggest that by choosing a homestay through the exchange or online platforms (HomeExchange), you can learn more about local areas. If you are traveling in a group, you can rent the entire apartment. Your roof racks are the best companions to your cars or other vehicles, thanks to the roof carriers who always help you in carrying your luggage well. Remember, you need to pack your bags and set your roof racks to go to the homestay instead of a hotel stay!
Public transportation must be your travel medium
Carbon emissions from jets, sports cars, and other means of transport are among the main contributors to environmental pollution. My tip is to prefer using public transportation when exploring a new destination. A single six-seven hour flight can result in 10-15% of carbon dioxide emissions alone – this equals to an individual's yearly emissions. Using public transportation will help cut fuel consumption and carbon footprint of an individual. Secondly, it will help save a lot of cash of yours during travel that you can probably spend on shopping, wholeheartedly. Nature will serve you better if you preserve the environment better.
Proper trash disposal
"Leave only footprints, take only pictures," - Unknown. What an absolute statement for a sustainable trip! Most of the time, we have a habit of throwing our trash at an improper place. We litter. We spit. While traveling, we must make sure that we, at least, dispose of waste created by us in the dust bins. The cruise ships in the Caribbean Sea aggregately produce more than 70,000 tons of solid waste each year. I know that this fact is terrifying. Referencing it, we should put our trash at a suitable disposal place not to harm the environment.
Go the organic way
When you find a hotel for your stay, try to find out about their organic farming practices for environmental conservation. There are resorts that practice organic farming yet have no luxury to deliver to the tourists. Also, make sure to visit the local restaurants that fetch ingredients from the locals and organic dealers. Try having your breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner at such restaurants at your travel place. You can explore the markets of their city, talk to their people, and try to understand what culture they follow. By knowing this, you can better sustain their culture, environment, and overall surroundings.
Make using eco-friendly products a habit
When the number of visitors exceeds the environment's ability to cater to them, the outcome is environmental depletion. It is, therefore, better to behave in an eco-friendly manner and use eco-friendly products. We can wear eco-friendly apparel, for example. Instead of using plastic bottles, you can use refillable bottles. Even recyclable bags must be used rather than plastic bags. Make sure you find a proper place to recycle them. Buy from the supermarket that sells products in either a paper bag or in a bag made from fabric.
Do not harm nature in any way
It is appreciable that tourism has developed globally. Though, its physical impacts left on the environment are not that applauding. Loss of organic matter, loss of ground cover, changes in the composition of species, soil erosion, lack of land fertility, and many more are the consequences of tourism development. Strictly, nobody has a right to harm nature in any way. While viewing wildlife, it can be stressful for animals. Your leisure time at water reservoirs may ultimately pollute them. To ensure that your travel is sustainable, you shouldn’t cause any harm to nature.
In a nutshell, with less pressure on your budget, you can still have amazing travel experiences while preserving the environment.
Written by Rebecca Siggers
About the Author
Rebecca Siggers has been closely studying the travel industry trends from quite some time. Intrigued by the booming growth of this sector, she takes interest in penning down her views providing quality insight on current travel trends and also likes to write about food and beverages, particularly wine.
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