Responsible Travel

1. A greener future

Clearer skies, cleaner rivers, wildlife venturing into urban areas, a drop in carbon emissions and suggestions of Earth ‘healing’ itself – we may be clutching at (compostable) straws, but could this be a slither of a silver lining in the corona tragedy that’s unfolding around the world?

We dearly hope that some long-term good will come from the current agonies surrounding coronavirus. We all need to reassess our travel plans once this crisis is over.  One long-stay trip is far better – for the environment and us – than several weekend trips and a one-week holiday – it’s just one take-off and one landing, which are the most polluting parts of any flight.

Even prior to the pandemic, the tide was turning. With irrefutable evidence of climate change upon us – Australia burning and the UK flooding – many travellers had already begun to tread more lightly, opting for staycations over long-haul escapes, or choosing to travel with companies that have responded to the call and opted to put responsibility centre stage.

 2. Focus on your footprint

While the UK’s aviation industry has pledged to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero by 2050, a recent report from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) shows that global transport-related emissions from tourism are predicted to increase 25% to 1,998 million tonnes between 2016 and 2030.

‘Offsetting’ is one of the practices employed by airlines or travel companies to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, and involves calculating their carbon emissions, reducing them where they can, and offsetting the remainder by investing in environmental projects. Gold Standard certification ensures that offsetting schemes make genuine, measurable contributions to sustainable development. However, there are many offsetting programmes.

3. Cut plastic waste

While many of us have switched to reusable coffee cups and water bottles at home, airlines and many resorts have been slow to make a change, meaning our single-use plastic tally can soar during a week away. Every year, a staggering eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean, and it’s estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea.

Plastic pollution is one of the current major global issues and our group is proud to play a leading role in driving plastic reduction across the travel and tourism industry. We are constantly hunting and inspecting resorts, hotels & local partners that are implementing the practice of plastic reduction throughout their working practice and we recommend them to our clients. Many resorts/hotels have started implementing ban of these plastic toiletries or using reusable items. 

4. Give back to communities

For customers keen to travel with purpose, many companies now invest a proportion of their profits into environmental or community projects, with some offering travellers the chance to see them in action.

We measure our success as a company through local benefit and positive impact. Our travellers are funding indirectly projects around the world to alleviate poverty, create jobs and boost the local tourism economy. lt isn’t just about being a travel company anymore.

With nature and wildlife under threat around the world, tourism can play a huge part in protecting species and preserving ecosystems. Travellers looking to do safari in Africa can choose to travel and stay at lodges with conscience that contributes to conservation. Some reliable companies have acquired former hunting lands and converted them for conservation tourism, funded by a collection of luxury camps offering safaris. Through paying to stay at these camps, guests become agents of positive change and ambassadors for conservation around the world.

We hunt for this kind of wildlife destinations where we feel that our client’s money goes far. Our impact on the planet is immense and we need to treasure the wild, unpopulated places that are left, we must give nature a chance to come back.

With so many trips focused on being beside or on the ocean, it’s no surprise that tourism organisations are looking at ways for visitors to help contribute to protecting our seas and marine life. Many Indian Ocean resorts have on-site marine biologists and coral-regeneration programmes to help restore reefs affected by climate change and pollution.

We humans do belong on the planet but our brains evolved dramatically and we got overconfident. Now it’s obvious we need to rethink — and thankfully there’s a big movement of people rethinking and pushing for change. As international borders reopen and the flight bans lift, perhaps it will be time for the travel industry to resist returning to ‘business as usual’ and start working together to create a green new world.