What are the benefits of sustainable tourism?

Sustainable tourism is to travel by creating positive impacts on society, environment, and economy. It aims to minimize negative impacts on the visited places. It involves contributing to the development and protection of the visited destinations by protecting the environment and welfare of local people.

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) defines sustainable tourism as follows: "Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities."

Each industry creates its own impact and tourism is no different.. However, even though there is no exact answer whether sustainable tourism creates a positive difference, as explained by the World Economic Forum, it is obvious that it damages the environment less than other types of tourism.

A survey conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) showed that 80% of people believes in the importance of sustainable tourism. Negative impacts of tourism can be mitigated by making conscious choices that would ensure development of environment and local communities and a difference can be created through sustainable tourism.

There are many ways to make a trip more sustainable. Some of these are being environment-friendly, contributing to the social and economic development of local communities, protecting biodiversity and cultural values, taking measures to reduce carbon emissions originating from travel, adopting responsible travel principles. Having a positive impact on our world is in our control.

You can do the following to increase the impact and benefits of sustainable tourism on destinations:

1. Minimize Negative Ecologic Impact
Each activity conducted during vacation has an impact on our ecologic footprint; how we travel to the destination, where we stay, which activities we participate in, what we eat, what we buy determine our carbon footprint. The aim of sustainable tourism is to minimize this.

There are many ways to protect the environment while traveling. For example, even only eating local products and food coming from local businesses can make a substantial difference. Because imported food has great cost in economic and environmental terms, it also increases carbon emissions originating from transportation. An important part of sustainable tourism is to demand and consume local agricultural products offered by the destination instead of imported food. In addition, learning the culture of the region through local food is another part of the travel experience. Consuming local foods enables exploring new tastes as well as ensuring that the revenue of local community increases, and savings are gained in emissions.

You can avoid air travel if the arrival point can be reached through environment-friendly travel methods such as electric train. When air travel is inevitable, you can prefer direct flights. Thus, you would be reducing your carbon footprint.

2. Contribute to the Protection of Wildlife.
All activities conducted with animals address the adventurous sentiment of travelers / tourists, they provide opportunities for them to take photos and realize their desire to immortalize that moment.

The protection of wildlife is an important part of responsible tourism. However, animals are used to attract tourists in many destinations and this threatens biodiversity. For example, although participating in activities such as riding elephants in Thailand or swimming with pink dolphins in the Amazonsmay seem like innocent adventures, it is dangerous for the natural environment of living creatures.

Even the souvenirs bought when returning from destinations, such as antlers, turtle shells, tiger skins, corals, or ivory, create a great threat for species.

Whereas today, conscious travel is essential. The interests of all living creatures should be taken into account; and these kinds of demands and entertainments should decrease. We must not forget that wildlife and human life are fundamentally connected. Protecting wildlife is indispensable for the continuity of vitality in our planet. Seeing or observing wild animals in their habitats is a unique enough experience.

You can check out our article here to learn more about voluntourism which is added next to the concepts such as sustainable tourism, ecotourism which reshape our traveling perception.

3. Contribute to Responsible Tourism by Keeping the Environment Clean.
Travelers should contribute to keeping the environment clean after visiting local areas, markets, historical sites or relaxing at a resort. When environmental cleanliness is not contributed to, it can lead to excessive waste, from plastic pollution on beaches to high energy demand in hotels. Responsibility starts at home, before you even travel. It is important to research the accommodation you will be visiting, check if it has any sustainable tourism certification, find out if the beaches have a blue flag, and check the garbage or wastewater situation.

In addition to researching whether the hotel uses single-use plastics in your destination, also consider whether the hotel’s suppliers reject unnecessary packaging. Also, ask whether they separate their waste, whether they have recycling bins or compost for food waste. Find out if the hotel uses low-flow showers or water-saving appliances, and whether they have a system in place to save energy. Also, find out what kind of products are in plastic bottles at the hotel, such as shampoo, conditioner and shower gel, what products are used to wash guests’ clothes and linens, and whether towels are changed unless requested. Also, research where and how the hotel supplies food and beverages in restaurants. It is also important to find out if the hotel has environmental certifications and what its environmental management policies are. You can check the hotel’s website and review social media comments to learn about its sustainable tourism practices. This can help you get feedback based on the experiences of previous guests. It may also be important to ask whether the hotel is involved in local projects or social responsibility activities to assess its interaction with the community. This can help you assess the hotel’s environmental and social impact.

Determining your preferences before you travel and considering sustainability criteria when choosing a hotel will be an important step in both protecting nature and making a positive impact on local communities.

It is possible to make a big contribution with small measures! How?

• Carry items that will help reduce waste while traveling. For example, taking your own reusable water bottle with you will prevent you from using single-use plastic bottles. Similarly, you can reduce the use of plastic straws by carrying your own metal straw. Carrying your cloth shopping bag with you will prevent you from using plastic bags. You can reduce waste generation by carrying your makeup / care products in reusable bottles.

Conscious choices regarding waste support sustainable tourism and help clean the destination you visit. You can also choose sustainable travel destinations that pay attention to the capacity of visitors instead of overcrowded destinations. In this way, you will minimize the negative impact of mass tourism and make a conscious choice!

4. Support Local Communities.
Options such as staying in hotels, small family businesses, and guesthouses owned by local communities directly stimulate the local economy and provide the opportunity to connect with the people of the destination on a personal level. Working with local tour operators can provide a similar experience.

The money travelers spend during their trip can provide employment for local people in sustainable travel-related jobs. For example, you can eat “nasi lemak” on the side of the road in rural Malaysia, or you can choose a small restaurant that makes brick oven pizza on the streets of Naples. In short, experiencing local products and purchasing local souvenirs contributes to the economy of the destination and allows the traveler’s money to go to local artisans.

5. Protect Cultural Heritage.
Responsible tourism and local educational experiences encourage local communities to share their cultural heritage. Choose trips that focus on the rich cultural texture of the places you visit. For example, travel for a special educational purpose and program to learn traditional crafts or dance from local artisans.

Such traveler demands create a domino effect; they cause the local people to embrace their cultural heritage, take pride in it and see it as worth preserving. As a result, many local places are gradually becoming sustainable travel destinations.

Many sustainable and responsible travel practices require less effort but create impressive results.

1. Go out of the ordinary and/or visit the place you will go outside the season.

2. Travel slower. Stay longer in the country, if possible. Become wholly absorbed in the environment and connect with local people. This will enable you to better understand the culture, history, and traditions of the destination.

3. Switch off the lights when you go out of the room where you stay and plug out electronic devices when not in use.

4. Take shorter showers and wash your clothes in bulk.

5. Reuse towels and bed sheets - if they are not dirty.

6. Learn to communicate in the local language in order to connect with the local communities.

7. Learn about local conservation efforts in the region when exploring destinations with sensitive ecosystems.

8. Ensure that your accommodation place provides local employment and treats its employees right.

9. Support tourism businesses with sustainable tourism certificates which follow local regulations.
10. Conduct research about environment policies of the accommodation place with which you made reservations.

Do not forget that your preferences matter as a tourist. The biggest support of sustainable tourism is you being more responsible in your choices. Supporting sustainable and ethical service provides is the most responsible thing you can do. The choices of travelers open up the way for responsible, green, fair tourism, i.e., sustainable tourism. Remember! Conscious tourists make up for great power!