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Tips for being a responsible, respectful traveler

Consider the culture, people, and the earth when you travel.

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When travel reporter Victoria Walker first embarked on international travels at age 22, she was of the “very American view,” she says, that the world was her oyster. She’d jump at cheap flight deals, often never giving a second thought about why she even wanted to visit certain destinations. She was guilty of visiting all the same Instagram-friendly destinations and posting the same photo as thousands of others before her. In her post-pandemic travels, Walker says she’s considerably more thoughtful with her planning: She researches hotels’ sustainability policies, asks other travelers about their experiences in destinations, finds hole-in-the-wall dining options.

“I want to go to a place and feel like I got something from being there,” Walker says, “and that they got something from me being there or I didn’t take anything away from that destination.”

You don’t need to cross international borders to be mindful of your impact on a community and the environment. For over two decades , the responsible travel movement has put forth the message that by prioritizing and protecting local people, culture, and natural ecosystems, tourists can have more authentic experiences, meaning a trip that immerses visitors in the local culture. As recently as 2017, American travelers were least interested in exploring a destination’s culture and history and were most likely to book a cruise for their next vacation, according to an Expedia survey. Another Expedia survey from 2017 found that US travelers across age demographics were more likely to look for the best deals when it came to travel and valued outdoor trips.

Over the last few years, traveler sentiments have more closely aligned with the tenets of responsible travel: Since pandemic travel restrictions were lifted in 2021, tourists have placed a greater emphasis on sustainability and respect for local communities in their adventures. These ideals apply whether you’re visiting the next town over or a foreign country, whether you’re traveling for leisure or for business.

“Being a responsible traveler,” says Wesley Espinosa , the interim executive director at the nonprofit Center For Responsible Travel , “is going to a place with the mindset that you are going to treat it as your home and leave it better than you found it.”

Travel isn’t an inherently good or bad experience, Espinosa stresses — “travel just is,” he says, “it exists.” That doesn’t mean remaining ignorant of your impact on a destination. After all, while this may be your vacation, the city, town, or village you’re visiting is someone’s home and you should treat it as such. From putting in the legwork before you depart to ensuring you’re choosing a hotel or travel guide that supports the local economy , here’s what to keep in mind if you want to travel responsibly.

Plan your trip in a way that supports local people, customs, and nature

Any trip, near or far, requires some level of preparation and research: Where will you go? How will you get there? What will you do once you’ve arrived? Where will you stay on overnight trips? While making these decisions, consider the nature of your trip. If you’re planning a bachelor or bachelorette party and expect many late nights, you’ll want to identify a locale — and a neighborhood within that city — that supports these activities. “Mostly, the centers of big cities are set up for tourists and tourism and it’s hard to go wrong there,” says Justin Francis, the co-founder and chief executive of the tour operator Responsible Travel . “But if you’re traveling to a neighborhood, which is where local life really happens, just be a bit more mindful that some bars are local bars and they’re not going to take kindly to you going crazy.”

Do some research to determine if your proposed vacation destination is amenable to tourists. For instance, the city of Amsterdam recently released public service announcements deterring young British men from visiting the city, due to complaints from locals about “ nuisance tourists .” The US State Department also keeps a list of countries where tourists are not advised to travel , such as Russia and Afghanistan. Maintain a basic understanding of environmental, social, and political news in your planned destination to ensure not only that it’s safe for you, but also that you won’t exacerbate any ongoing problems. “Understand the religion , understand the politics a little bit,” Francis says. “The big political problems that are likely to come up in conversation, just be aware of them.”

When you’re booking lodging, if you can, choose locally owned hotels and Airbnbs — you’re putting your money back into the community. While Airbnb has been linked to rising rent and diminishing housing supply , without any systemic policy change targeting short-term rentals, individuals choosing to abstain from Airbnb bookings will have negligible impact. “Individuals choosing not to Airbnb because of a housing shortage is all great but the big decision that needs to be made is governments disincentivizing landlords from those practices,” Keith Jacobs, a sociologist at the University of Tasmania, told the Guardian in 2022 . There are some alternatives based on your needs and budget, including traditional bed and breakfasts and house and pet sitting .

For an extra step, you can call a hotel and ask how much of their staff live within a few miles of the property and if they’re paying at least the minimum wage to all employees, Francis says. Other things to consider to minimize your carbon footprint while staying at a hotel: Do they have space devoted to nature on the property? Do they offer plant-based food options? Is the hotel powered by renewable energy ? “It’s not always possible in every country in the world to switch from carbon and carbon-intensive fossil fuel energy to renewable energy,” Francis says, “but it is in many.” If you’re having trouble finding a hotel, try looking at sustainable tourism company Beyond Green , which partners with hotels, resorts, and lodges that promote sustainability, and hotel booking platform Kind Traveler , which allows travelers to donate to local charities when booking hotels.

Walker relies on information from other jetsetters in Facebook groups, such as NOMADNESS Travel Tribe , a community for Black and brown travelers. Walker will ask other members about their experiences in specific destinations, if they have connections to locals in the area, and hotel and restaurant recommendations.

If you’re considering a tour guide or excursion company, choose a locally run business, Francis says. Not only are you supporting the economy, but locals speak the language and know the most authentic restaurants, photo opportunities, and hideaways. Search your destination’s tourism office and find their list of suggested tour guide operators, Espinosa says.

As for how you’ll get there — and get around while you’re there — opt for transportation with the smallest carbon footprint. A flight might be necessary to get from point A to point B, but consider an extended stay in one location instead of hopping on multiple flights for a few days excursion, Francis suggests. For closer trips, try taking the bus or train . Public transit should be your preferred mode of transportation within your destination as well.

Spend your money in local restaurants and on artisan goods

Not only do you get a more authentic experience by shopping and dining locally, but you’re putting dollars in the pockets of the people whose home you’re visiting. For Espinosa, an “authentic” trip is not one that relies on hokey attractions, but the moment when you engage with local culture. These tourist hotspots aren’t inherently bad, but they don’t give you the full picture of a destination. “When I think of my favorite memories when I travel, it’s never the wild moment of peering over the Grand Canyon, although that’s cool,” he says. “What’s always memorable to me is on my way to the Grand Canyon, I stopped at a gas station and I met an old guy and sat down and had a cup of coffee with him and he told me about his life living in the area.”

Food is an excellent entry point into a community. In the car on her way from the airport to her hotel, Walker’s first order of business on every trip is asking rideshare and taxi drivers their favorite meals. “I phrase it as like, ‘If I only have X amount of days here, what should I eat?’ Or ‘If you are coming back home from a long trip, what’s the first thing you want to eat?’ Or ‘What’s the first thing you ask your mom or your grandma or somebody in your family to make you?’” Walker says. “Because everybody has a story.”

Whenever you can, avoid chain restaurants and eat your meals at local establishments, Francis says. Try to dine at restaurants that source at least some of their ingredients locally. Spread the love: Dine at different locations every day to support multiple businesses, Espinosa says.

When shopping, locally owned boutiques are preferable to malls — but craft or artisan markets is where you’ll make the most economic impact. “It’s a fantastic way to talk to local people about traditions and their ways of life,” Francis says, “and very often [you] end up buying something and supporting them.” Try Googling local markets, craft fairs, or artisan markets in the city you’re visiting or strike up a conversation with a local — a barista, someone sitting next to you on the bus, or a guide if you’re using one — to get their suggestions.

Be respectful when visiting sacred or natural sites

Among the top tourist destinations worldwide are historic ruins, national parks, and holy sites. If any of these locations has a museum or educational focus associated with it, there are likely posted instructions informing visitors about photo and waste policies, clearly marked paths (for natural sites), and preservation information. It should go without saying, but follow those rules. Espinosa recommends booking a tour if they’re offered to get an in-depth look at the site.

For locations without posted visitor guidelines, err on the side of caution and ask someone nearby if entering a space or taking a photo is permitted — especially if you are photographing another person. “That’s the first and foremost most respectful thing you can do,” Espinosa says. “And guess what? It’s an opportunity to learn. Somebody feels connected to their own place … and they get to transmit information to you.”

Operate with respect when visiting nature preserves: Stay on marked paths, take your trash with you and only dispose of it in clearly marked waste receptacles, don’t take plants, sand, shells, or other natural objects with you, and don’t disturb or touch animals.

Regardless of your itinerary, Espinosa suggests donating to area nonprofits to ensure future visitors can enjoy the location, too. For example, if you’re visiting a marsh or wetland, look for a nonprofit that supports conservation. “The people there who also enjoy doing what you enjoy doing, if that’s eating good food, if that’s music and arts, if that’s outdoor recreation,” Espinosa says, “find the people who care about that in that scene.”

Take your time and fully immerse yourself in the culture

The most memorable part of your vacation might not be angling for a glimpse of the Mona Lisa, but rather the lively chat with the owner of a fromagerie. “If you went to a destination and you only spoke to other tourists, or people in a service role,” Walker says, “then you didn’t do well by that destination, you didn’t do well by that trip.”

Don’t take for granted the joy in the smaller moments that happen when you aren’t rushing from museum to museum, reservation to reservation. Allow yourself leisure time to discover the nooks and crannies of a destination and connect with the people there. It helps to learn a few phrases of the native language — something as simple as “hello,” “please,” and “thank you,” Francis says — which earns the respect of locals.

Remember, there are parts of the world where looser schedules prevail, so don’t stress if a train is delayed or people walk slower than they do at home. “You’re going to find you enjoy yourself more if you don’t get stressed by that and angered by that and just go with the flow,” Francis says.

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What Is Responsible Travel?

The term “responsible travel” has been thrown around a lot recently. But what is responsible travel? How does it work? Why does it matter? And how can we, as travellers, put the concept into action?

As we begin to see more and more negative consequences of mass tourism in our favourite destinations, the answers to these questions become increasingly vital.

I’d like to start by saying: don’t be daunted by the phrase “responsible travel.” People can become wary and turned-off by buzzwords like this as it can sound like preaching or guilt-tripping. That isn’t to say that there isn’t a strong message behind the responsible tourism movement — because there definitely is — but it’s not as preachy as it may sound. It’s simply about encouraging people to be more switched on, ethical and thoughtful when they travel.

Ultimately, responsible travel does not involve limiting yourself. It actually opens you up to the world a little more, encouraging you to scratch beneath the surface and understand your surroundings. The goal is to try and make people aware of the impact tourism can have on local environments, economies and communities, and ensure this impact is a positive one.

In this article, I’ll define responsible travel, take a look at where the concept came from, explore its principles and discuss how we can all do our part to ensure our travels make a positive impact.

What is responsible travel?

The definition of responsible travel is as simple as this:

Responsible travel pertains to being socially, economically and environmentally aware when you travel. You understand how your actions can impact a destination and strive to ensure this impact is a positive one.

In short, responsible travel is about taking responsibility for making tourism sustainable and how we address this challenge. Perhaps we could say that sustainability is the goal, and travelling responsibly is the action.

Confusion arises thanks to the range of similar buzzwords within the travel and tourism industry. For example, you may have heard of the following terms: ecotourism, sustainable tourism, ethical travel, green travel, mindful travel and conscious travel. These buzzwords do have their own specific definitions and principles, but they all aim to make a positive impact.

Regardless of what you call it, they all share the same core principles:

• Conserve and protect wildlife, biodiversity and the environment
• Respect and conserve traditions, values and heritage
• Contribute to cultural understanding and tolerance
• Ensure viable long-term economic and social benefits

Responsible tourism is all about leaving a positive impact on not only the environment, but also the people who live in the places we choose to visit. The result being not only a more ethical and responsible trip when it comes to travellers’ impacts, but also a more authentic, exciting and culturally immersive one for them too. responsibletravel.com

A brief history of responsible travel/ecotourism

The origin of ecotourism arguably has its roots in the Sierra Club back in the early 1900s. The Sierra Club took annual expeditions into the Sierra Nevada to show hikers the natural beauty of the mountains and forest, with the hope that they would want to help protect the environment there.

However, ecotourism officially developed with the environmental movement of the 1970s and 1980s. Growing concern for the environment coupled with dissatisfaction with mass tourism led to increased demand for alternative styles of travel — travel that was kinder to the planet and more rewarding for tourists.

Around the same time, less developed countries began to realise that nature-based tourism, or ecotourism, could offer a healthy income. This gave incentive for them to protect their environment and move away from more destructive methods of making money, such as animal agriculture and logging.

By the mid-1980s, a number of these developing countries had identified ecotourism as a means of achieving both conservation and development goals, as well as a good way of securing foreign exchange.

Megan Epler Wood, a wildlife biologist, is renowned for being one of the first advocates for the ecotourism movement. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Colombia in 1986, and in 1990, she founded The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), the first not-for-profit in the world dedicated to economic development through sustainable tourism.

Today, ecotourism and responsible travel are considered one of the fastest-growing sectors in the travel industry.

Principles of responsible travel

1) Provide long-term economic benefits to local people. Responsible travel aims to achieve a measurable reduction in poverty among local communities. By employing local people in tourism, staying in locally-owned accommodation, and putting money directly into the pockets of local communities, the economy is strengthened over-all. Tourism can also stimulate local business growth and generate investment in infrastructure where it’s needed.

2) Provide long-term social and cultural benefits to local people. Tourism should positively influence international understanding and respect for local traditions, customs and values. Tourists should act sensitively and respectfully towards local people and help to strengthen natural heritage.

3) Conserve and protect wildlife, biodiversity and the environment. Tourist activity should not cause negative consequences for wildlife or the environment. This can be as simple as taking litter away, sticking to marked hiking trails and not participating in animal tourism, such as swimming with dolphins or riding elephants.

Consequences of unsustainable tourism

Mass tourism and unresponsible travel can have a variety of negative consequences on a destination. I often use Thailand’s Koh Phi Phi as an example of how unsustainable tourism can contribute to the demise of a destination: mass numbers, pollution and trash caused the government to completely close Maya Beach.

1) Destruction of the environment. Overdevelopment, pollution and overconsumption of natural resources all contribute to the destruction of an environment. High tourist numbers place high demand for more restaurants and hotels to be built; sunscreen-clad tourists pollute oceans and damage coral reefs ; litter and waste are left behind, and natural resources are drained.

2) Disturbance or abuse of wildlife. Habitats are often cleared to make space for resorts, hotels and tourist attractions, which directly impacts wildlife. Not only this, many animals are exploited for the tourism industry — think of “swim with dolphins” programmes, elephant riding and big cat encounters.

3) Inflated living costs. High tourist numbers cause land, food, water, housing and transport to increase in price. The phrase “tourist tax” is not a myth. You’ll pay more for just about everything in tourist areas — even if you’re a resident.

4) The commodification of local cultures and traditions. In many countries around the world, tourists can pay to visit “local tribes” or “ethnic groups” who are, in essence, taught to put on a display in order to satisfy paying customers. This is just one example of how cultures and traditions can be commodified.

How to be a responsible traveller

Now that you know why responsible travel is so important, let’s look at some ways you can put the concept into action.

1) Conserve energy, electricity and water. This is something that you should be doing at home anyway. But ensure you limit your use of energy and utilities as much as possible, such as keeping showers short, limiting your use of A/C and only doing laundry when you have a full load.

2) Shop and eat locally. Shop and eat locally wherever possible. Supermarkets ship food from all over the world, resulting in increased carbon emissions and plastic packaging. Not only is eating local better for the environment, but its usually cheaper and also supports the local economy.

3) Respect the environment, culture and people of the places you visit. Cultures all over the world have very different customs, traditions and societal rules. Take the time to learn what these are so that you can ensure you’re being respectful.

4) Make eco-aware accommodation choices. When deciding on your accommodation, opt for locally-owned guesthouses or homestays. This means you’ll be supporting the local people. You should also look for eco-friendly hotels and hostels that work to reduce their impact on the environment, specifically by using renewable energy or having a recycling scheme.

5) Choose responsible tour companies. If you’re looking to travel with a tour group, do your homework and choose a company that adheres to sustainable and eco-friendly travel policies. G Adventures and Intrepid Travel are good examples of responsible tour companies.

6) Avoid animal tourism. If you want to see wild animals, opt for sanctuaries or national parks that offer a “hands-off” approach and who rescue/rehabilitate/protect the animals. Under no circumstance is there any need to touch, ride or watch a wild animal perform.

7) Get off the beaten track. Although tourism can have lots of positives for the local economy, too much of it can have dire consequences. Get off the beaten track and discover locations which would benefit from tourism, rather than contribute to the demise of already over-touristed destinations.

READ MORE: 13 Ways To Travel More Responsibly

Responsible travel is easy

Responsible travel is mostly just a whole lot of common sense. There are lots of misconceptions about it, though, as many people seem to think it involves shelling out for five-star eco-lodges. Or, they think the exact opposite, and that responsible travel is for folk who spend their time exclusively camping, hiking and observing wildlife. While both these styles of travel could be great examples, the reality is that everyone can adopt responsible tourism principles.

Unfortunately, there is no magic solution. For change to occur, people must really do their part to ensure they are travelling consciously, ethically and sustainably. This will also require local communities to realise that their home is not to be exploited for tourist dollar, but to be celebrated and protected.

More on responsible travel:

• Learn how to be a responsible wildlife tourist
• Discover how to make air travel more sustainable
• Check out these tips on travelling more responsibly

About The Author

Lauren Pears is a freelance travel writer and blogger based in London. She writes about active adventure travel, aiming to encourage and inspire travellers to make the most of the great outdoors.

Thank you for reading! If you found this post useful, I’d be grateful if you would consider using the affiliate links below when planning your travels. I’ll make a small commission at no extra cost to you. This will help me to keep this blog running. Thanks for your support – Lauren. Hotels –  Booking.com Hostels –  Hostelworld Cheap flights –  Skyscanner Travel insurance –  World Nomads Outdoor gear –  Decathlon  /  GO Outdoors Cycling gear –  Chain Reaction Cycles Alternatively, you could buy me a coffee to say thanks!

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This is a super great post! I kept seeing the phrase responsible travel but had no idea what it really meant! And I totally agree that overcrowding and over tourism is ruining a lot of places around the world. Definitely need to see some change 🙌

Thanks Alice! Yes it’s popping up everywhere at the moment so I wanted to share what I know on the subject as it’s important to me. Hopefully change will occur soon 😊

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Responsible Tourism was defined in Cape Town in 2002 alongside the World Summit on Sustainable Development. This definition, the  Cape Town Declaration  is now widely accepted and was been adopted by the World Travel Market in 2007 for  World Responsible Tourism Day .

Responsible Tourism is about "making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit." Responsible Tourism requires that operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists take responsibility, take action to make tourism more sustainable.

The World Travel Market has adopted the Cape Town Declaration definition of Responsible Tourism for its World Responsible Tourism Day which encourages the industry to take responsibility for making tourism more sustainable and demonstrate their responsibility.

The Cape Town Declaration recognises that Responsible Tourism takes a variety of forms, it is characterised by travel and tourism which:

• minimises negative economic, environmental and social impacts;
• generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities, improves working conditions and access to the industry;
• involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life changes;
• makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world's diversity;
• provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues;
• provide access for people with disabilities and the disadvantaged;
• is culturally sensitive, engenders respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence.

Behaviour can be more or less responsible and what is responsible in a particular place depends upon environment and culture.

Garry Wilson, Mainstream Product & Purchasing Director, for the TUI Group argues in an interview specially recorded, for Cape Town and Africa, that Responsible Tourism is now core, mainstream business for TUI.  Video

If you're interested in learning more, check out this video where Dr Harold Goodwin breaks down his definition of Responsible Tourism:

There are some useful forums on Responsible Tourism

Responsible Tourism Practitioners IrresponsibleTourism Responsible Tourism News

Key Responsible Tourism Documents

2001  UNWTO Global Code of Ethics

2002 The Cape Town Declaration  is the founding document of the Responsible Tourism Movement

Latest News Items

Harold on the Web

Get a sample of Harold Goodwin's  Book "Responsible Tourism"

What is responsible tourism and why does it matter?

Disclaimer: Some posts on Tourism Teacher may contain affiliate links. If you appreciate this content, you can show your support by making a purchase through these links or by buying me a coffee . Thank you for your support!

Responsible tourism is a term we hear thrown about a lot these days, but what does it actually mean to be a responsible tourist? Who needs to be ‘responsible’ and why does responsible tourism matter?

There is no denying the increased recognition amongst tourism industry stakeholders and tourists when it comes to social and corporate responsibility, but the reality is that whilst most of us are familiar with the term ‘responsible tourism’, many of us do not know exactly what this entails…. so in this article I will explain all.

What is responsible tourism?

Responsible tourism definition

What is the difference between responsible tourism and sustainable tourism, the growth of responsible tourism.

Why is responsible tourism important?

How can we be responsible tourists?

How can the tourism industry be more responsible, footsteps ecolodge, the gambia, eden project, cornwall, reality tours and travel, india, dolphin discovery centre, western australia, rancho margot, costa rica, responsible tourism: key takeaways, responsible tourism faqs, responsible tourism: to conclude.

In recent years there has been a clear shift away from the desire to embark on a traditional package holiday , which focusses on the concept of sun, sea and sand towards more experiential travel . Nowadays, many consumers are in search of holidays that provide them with more than two weeks on the beach , and instead are seeking deeper immersive experiences, where there is a greater focus on sustainability. This is coupled with a general trend towards more sustainable living and a greater awareness of the impacts of our actions on society and the natural environment.

In essence, responsible tourism is tourism that exhibits responsible behaviour, both in terms of the tourist and their individual actions, but also in terms of the industry and how the tourism provision is managed. Responsible tourism has become an established area of tourism research and practice and a household term, however the term is somewhat subjective and poorly understood in some contexts.

The definition of responsible tourism, both in theory and practice, has been the subject of debate for many years. The problem lies with the inherent subjectivity surrounding the term responsible- what one person may think is ‘responsible behaviour’, another may not.

Whilst many academics and industry practitioners have attempted to define the term responsible tourism, the most referenced source when it comes to defining the term remains to be the Cape Town Declaration. The 2002 Cape Town Declaration characterises responsible tourism in terms of the following:

• minimising impacts
• generating economic benefits for host communities
• involving local people in decision making
• conserving natural and cultural heritage
• providing meaningful connections between tourists and local people
• being accessible and culturally sensitive

In other words, tourism should encompass aspects of the above in order to be considered ‘responsible’.

Harold Goodwin is one of the key authors who has written about responsible tourism. If you are studying responsible tourism I highly recommend that you cite him in your work! You can find his most recent book here .

Although the term responsible tourism does share much in common with sustainable tourism , ecotourism , ethical tourism and other related forms of socially-conscious tourism, it is NOT the same. This can be quite confusing because oftentimes the terms sustainable tourism and responsible tourism are used interchangeably, but they shouldn’t be.

As I explain in detail in my article on sustainable tourism , there are three pillars to sustainable tourism- the environment, society and the economy. The World Tourism Organisation prescribes that sustainable tourism should:

• Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity.
• Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance.
• Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation. 

Whilst there are clear aims of sustainable tourism, when it comes to responsible tourism the definition is a bit more loose, without such transparent prerequisites and instead relying on the premise of simply ‘being responsible’. In other words, responsible tourism will often encompass the elements noted above, but these are not essential.

The concept of responsible tourism may be in the public mind more now than ever before, but it isn’t new. The vision of a more responsible form of tourism was discussed at length back in the 1980s and became an important element within the fast emerging concept of sustainable tourism. More than twenty five years ago it was noted that the industry would have to adopt more environmentally orientated and socially responsible practices, yet this has only really become prominent in the past decade.

According to a study undertaken by Booking.com in 2020, over half (53%) of tourists around the world want to travel more sustainably in the future. The company, along with many other industry professionals-myself included- expects to see a more eco-conscious mindset in future years. Whilst there was a general shift towards a more sustainable mindset anyway, this was amplified by the COVID pandemic, as coronavirus amped people’s awareness of their impact on the environment and local communities.

Nowadays, the label of ‘responsible tourism’ is by far the most well-used sustainability-focussed term throughout the travel and tourism industry. In fact, a study undertaken in 2009 by SNV suggests that tour operators are almost five times as likely to use the term ‘responsible tourism’ than any other similar label (e.g. ecotourism, sustainable tourism, ethical tourism). Sadly, the subjectivity of the term does allow room for the term itself to be used exploited and for greenwashing to occur, but that’s a discussion for another day.

The UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili stated , quite rightly, that:

‘ Sustainability must no longer be a niche part of tourism but the new norm for every part of our sector. That means an opportunity to build back better and create and industry that is more resilient and aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals . ‘

The tourism industry is arguably the biggest industry in the world and it has been growing at a rapid rate over the past few decades. Unfortunately, as the industry has grown around the world, so have the negative impacts that it causes. Whilst the pandemic has been a disaster for the tourism industry and those whose livelihoods depend on it, it has also presented us with a unique opportunity to fix what was/is broken.

From the depths of the Amazon jungle to the Australian outback, there are few places in the world that have escaped the burgeoning growth of the travel and tourism industry. Unfortunately, in many cases, this has come at the expense of natural resources, local economies and indigenous populations. Responsible tourism is all about minimising these negative impacts (think erosion, littering, rises in crime, deterioration of authenticity , economic leakage and so on) and capitalising on the good stuff- the economic benefits, the preservation of natural areas and the promotion of culture and heritage, amongst other positive impacts of tourism.

Ultimately, if we want to preserve the very things that it is we are going to see (the beach, the mountain, the wildlife etc) for future generations, then we need to behave responsibly and sustainably- that’s why responsible tourism isn’t just important- it’s imperative.

We all need to think about the impacts that our actions have on the world around us. Yes, it is extremely difficult (if possible at all) to be 100% responsible for 100% of the time. BUT, there are many things that we CAN do to help to protect and preserve the environment, society and the economy. You can read a detailed account of how to be an ethical tourist here , but for now I will list a few subtle changes that you can make to help be a more responsible tourist when you travel:

• Don’t buy animal souvenirs
• Avoid unethical wildlife tourism
• Don’t drop litter
• Don’t touch coral
• Try slow tourism 
• Opt for eco-friendly transportation options 
• Turn off the lights
• Try ecotourism
• Avoid plastic
• Recycle 
• Don’t waste water
• Stick to main paths
• Limit economic leakage where you can
• Haggle fairly
• Learn the local language 
• Be respectful of local customs and traditions 
• Don’t give to beggars
• Treat people fairly 
• Avoid sex tourism 
• Don’t take photos of people without their permission 

A key aspect to ensuring sustainable tourism is achieved is through careful planning and management. Tourism industry stakeholders at all levels, ranging from the taxi driver and hotel staff at grass roots level, through to international organisations and national Government, have an obligation to facilitate responsible tourism. There are many examples of what responsible behaviour from the tourism industry might look like in practice, but here are a few to give you an idea:

• Hire local staff
• Use local products and services to minimise economic leakage
• Use ethical marketing and promotion
• Involve the local community in decision making
• Have a strong sense of corporate social responsibility
• Use environmentally friendly products and services
• Limited economic leakage
• Educate workers
• Offer training and development opportunities for staff
• Work together with other industry stakeholders

Examples of responsible tourism

There are examples of responsible tourism from all over the world! However, to give you an idea of what responsible tourism looks like in practice, I have given a few examples for you below. (Note- these can also be classified as examples of sustainable tourism .)

My first example of sustainable tourism is Footsteps Ecolodge , which I visited back in 2010.

David, the Founder of Footsteps Ecolodge expresses how when he took a relatively cheap trip to The Gambia, he discovered that the staff at his booked hotel were only earning on average £1 per day. David felt guilty for enjoying a holiday knowing that the locals were receiving little or no economic benefits at all from hosting him.

David went on to develop Footsteps Ecolodge, with a mission to improve The Gambia’s trade through responsible tourism and therefore encourages sustainable development. In fact, one of his goals has led footsteps to employ only from the local village and buy only local produce.

I loved visiting this ecolodge. It has many environmentally friendly initiatives, ranging from solar powered electricity to composting toilets. It is based far away from the main tourist areas, providing a unique and authentic holiday experience. After spending a few days in the main tourist resort of Kotu, I was happy to exchange the evening chatter in the restaurants for the humming of grasshoppers and the beach bar music for the gentle sounds of waves.

You can book a stay at Footsteps Ecolodge here .

The Eden Project is another great example of sustainable tourism.

It was built to demonstrate the importance of plants to people and to promote the understanding of vital relationships between plants and people. It is a huge complex that welcomes a wide range of tourists from the UK and overseas. In 2017, the project attracted more than o ne million visitors.

The project in fact has annual sustainability reports, monitoring its sustainable impact year on year.

You can find out more about the Eden Project in this video.

Reality Tours and Travel’s mission is to provide authentic and thought-provoking local experiences through their tours and to use the profits to create change in Indian communities.

Reality Tours and Travel is a social catalyst and works towards profit sharing programs. 80% of their profits go directly to Reality Gives which runs high quality education programs in areas where their tours work.

Reality Tours and Travel  now welcomes over 15,000 guests each year and employs over 50 members of staff. Here is a bit more information about the work that they do.

The Dolphin Discovery Centre begun when Mrs Evelyn Smith begun to feed a group of dolphins near her home. Following her discovery of the dolphin grouping, specialists were brought in to monitor and study the local dolphins.

A few years later, the Dolphin Discovery Centre allowed tourists and community members to interact with the dolphins in hope they would understand and enjoy the marine mammals.

In brief, the Dolphin Discovery Centre Adopt a Dolphin Program supports the conservation of dolphins and the broader marine environment.

To date, the Dolphin Discovery Centre not only conserves dolphins, the centre also conserves turtles too. Learn more on adopting a dolphin or turtle with the Dolphin Discovery Centre  here.

Ranch Margot is exactly what it sounds, a ranch located in Costa Rica. It all begun in 2004 when the founder of Rancho Margot, Juan Sostheim, purchased 400 acres of pasture. Despite the land being cleared of all vegetation, Juan Sostheim had a vision to grow sustainable food and raising animals.

Today, Rancho Margot focuses specifically on sustainable production and living, from the food they delivery to their energy production and the transportation used. Read more on Rancho Margot  here.

Rancho Margot’s sustainable mission is in keeping with the Brundtland Report.

“To achieve and maintain sustainable operations, we work to find better ways to satisfy our needs without compromising future generations​”

Whilst I didn’t get a chance got visit Rancho Margot during  our travels through Costa Rica , it does look like a fantastic place to go and a great example of sustainable tourism.

Now that we know a bit more about what responsible tourism is and how it works, lets summarise the key takeaways:

• Responsible tourism involves making ethical and sustainable choices when traveling.
• It is important to respect local cultures, traditions, and customs when visiting a new place.
• Supporting local communities by buying locally-made products and using locally-owned businesses can have a positive impact on the local economy.
• Minimising your carbon footprint by using eco-friendly transportation options and reducing waste can help reduce the impact of tourism on the environment.
• Being mindful of the impact of your visit on the local environment and taking steps to minimise damage, such as not littering or damaging natural habitats, is important.
• Learning about the history and culture of the destination you are visiting can help you appreciate and respect it more.
• Engaging in ethical wildlife tourism , such as visiting sanctuaries and conservation centres, can help support animal welfare and conservation efforts.
• Respecting the privacy and dignity of local people is important when taking photographs or engaging in other tourist activities.
• Supporting responsible tourism organisations and initiatives can help promote sustainable and ethical tourism practices.
• Ultimately, responsible tourism involves making conscious and informed decisions that benefit the destination and its people, while minimising negative impacts on the environment and local communities.

Lastly, lets finish off this article by answering some of the most common questions on this topic.

Responsible tourism is a type of tourism that aims to promote ethical and sustainable practices that benefit local communities and minimise negative impacts on the environment.

Responsible tourism is important because it helps promote sustainable and ethical practices in the tourism industry, which can benefit both the environment and local communities.

How can I engage in responsible tourism?

You can engage in responsible tourism by being mindful of your impact on the environment and local communities, supporting local businesses, and engaging in ethical and sustainable tourism practices.

What are some examples of responsible tourism practices?

Examples of responsible tourism practices include buying locally-made products, using eco-friendly transportation options, supporting wildlife conservation efforts, and respecting local cultures and traditions.

How can tourism negatively impact local communities?

Tourism can negatively impact local communities through overdevelopment, cultural commodification , and economic exploitation.

Can responsible tourism benefit local communities?

Yes, responsible tourism can benefit local communities by supporting local businesses and creating job opportunities.

What is eco-tourism?

Eco-tourism is a type of responsible tourism that focuses on visiting natural areas in a way that is environmentally friendly and supports conservation efforts.

Can responsible tourism help reduce the negative impact of tourism on the environment ?

Yes, responsible tourism can help reduce the negative impact of tourism on the environment by promoting sustainable practices such as reducing waste and using eco-friendly transportation options.

Is responsible tourism more expensive than traditional tourism?

Responsible tourism may not necessarily be more expensive than traditional tourism, as it depends on the specific activities and accommodations chosen.

What is the role of governments and tourism organisations in promoting responsible tourism?

Governments and tourism organisations have a role in promoting responsible tourism by creating policies and guidelines that encourage sustainable and ethical practices , and by educating tourists on responsible tourism practices.

As you can see, responsible tourism is very important to ensure that the tourism industry is sustainable. To learn more about this, visit the articles listed below:

• Ethical tourism: Everything you need to know
• Agritourism: What, where and why
• The rise of revenge tourism
• Educational tourism: Everything you need to know

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UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer

#travelenjoyrespect, global code of ethics for tourism.

• Private Sector Signatories of the Commitment
• Ethics convention
• World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE)

The Responsible Tourist

• Background of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism

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To facilitate the understanding of the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism by tourists, a more user-friendly text and format of the leaflet “The Responsible Tourist and Traveller” was prepared in 2005 by the World Committee on Tourism Ethics . In 2020 the World Committee on Tourism Ethics revised the 2017 version of the Tips for a Responsible Traveller to include updated recommendations relevant to ensuring safe and secure travel. Said revision, took place during the first semester on 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Tips for a Responsible Traveller"

What Is Responsible Travel?

Note: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a commission at no additional cost to you. More details are  here .

There’s a growing movement of people who are concerned with the impact of their choices when they travel. Just as we try to recycle, minimize waste, shop at farmers markets, or make other conscious decisions to minimize our negative impact when we’re at home, we’ve started to think about how our choices could be more responsible and sustainable when we travel.

As with any growing movement, people are still figuring out how to talk about it well. We’re figuring out how to clarify the terms  and  build momentum at the same time, all while trying to avoid the shallowness of becoming trendy.

So I thought a lot  about which term I wanted to use as I started to write about the travel philosophy behind Roaming the Americas. (Feel free to add “obsessed with language” to my list of quirks. Though I prefer to think of myself as a wannabe linguist.) Hopefully this post will help clarify what I mean when I talk about responsible travel here.

Terms and Definitions

In addition to responsible travel , you might have heard some other terms being tossed around, like sustainable tourism , community-based tourism , ethical travel , or ecotourism . 

One of the challenges of this movement is that there isn’t a lot of clarity around all these terms, so a lot of people use them interchangeably. There’s a lot of overlap, but there are also differences and nuances in what they each mean.

Based on what I’ve read, here are some basic definitions:

• Sustainable Tourism : tourism that minimizes the negative impacts on the environment, economy, and culture. All forms of tourism can become more sustainable, and I see this as a sort of umbrella term for everything we’re talking about here. Making tourism and travel more sustainable is the overall goal, and the effort must come from tourism providers and individual travelers alike.
• Ecotourism : this is just one aspect of sustainable tourism that focuses on minimizing environmental harm that tourism can have on a destination. Since this has grown in popularity, many hotels, destinations, and tours have tried to capitalize on it in their marketing. It’s challenging to decipher between genuine efforts to protect the environment and marketing gimmicks, especially since there is no globally recognized certification (and even certification programs have their challenges).
• Community-Based Tourism : this generally includes lodging and tours provided by locals, often in rural areas. Essentially, it is a grassroots effort from a local community. They invite tourists into their way of life, as opposed to mass tourism (such as large resorts) that are operated by outside companies. Fundación En Via (Mexico) and De La Gente Coffee (Guatemala) are two examples of organizations using community-based tourism in unique ways to generate income, while Costa Rica has developed an association (ACTUAR) that gives rural residents access to tourists who want to experience community-based tourism.
• Ethical Tourism : tourism that minimizes the negative impacts of travel with a strong emphasis on human rights and the environment.
• Responsible Tourism : tourism that minimizes the negative impacts on the environment, economy, and culture.

So–even more confused now? All these terms with all this overlap and connotations and nuances.

Since sustainable travel and responsible travel have similar meanings, I debated forever about which to use on Roaming the Americas. I want to help create a positive, upbeat environment that doesn’t feel like an admonition or yet another thing on the list of All the Things I Should Be Doing. I also want people to see that it’s holistic. “Does responsible sound like too much of an admonition or a chore?” “Does sustainable sound like it’s only about ecotourism?”

The truth is–there is no perfect phrase, and there are various connotations–good and bad–associated with all these terms.

While sustainable tourism encompasses the following things as well, responsible travel gives the sense that the traveler is taking the initiative to not harm the communities they’re traveling to. The traveler herself is taking ownership of the impact her presence has on the local culture, economy, and environment. 

What’s This All About?

So as I start this journey here on Roaming the Americas, these are the categories I’ll cover. I want to provide you with resources, ideas, and tips that help you travel in the following responsible ways.

Engage With Culture

Engaging with culture  is all about experiencing a place as a local knows it, learning, and respecting the culture and community you’re visiting.

Where the Locals Go

I grew up romping around the back woods of Maine. Our DeLorme atlas, always tucked away somewhere in our truck, was exhausted from frequent use. My family explored nooks and crannies–hiking and camping in western Maine , driving through the potato fields of northern Maine, visiting lighthouses on the coast, enjoying summers on remote lakes, and otherwise living life in our rural town. 

When I tell people that I grew up in Maine, I usually get one of two responses: “We went there on vacation once!” Or, “Oh, I’d LOVE to visit Maine!” There’s a reason Maine’s nickname is  Vacationland –it’s an awesome place to visit .  And I’m not going to lie, I love talking about my home state. (I have a feeling that Mainers are a less rowdy version of Texans in terms of state pride.) I may have moved away, but I’ll  always be a Mainer at heart. 

So when someone tells me they’ve traveled to Maine , I love talking to them about it. But in the back of my mind, I know they’ve likely experienced just  one small slice of Maine life –the coastal towns that Maine is well-known for.

Don’t get me wrong–Maine’s coast is stunning and quaint and well worth the visit. But if someone asks me for advice about where to go in Maine, I’d offer a long list of places far inland. They’re the places that feel like “home” to me, and I love sharing them because I want people to know more about the diversity of Maine’s landscape and its small-town culture found throughout the state.

So this is my mindset when I think about traveling to other places: I want to go beyond the well-worn path and get to know a place as a local knows it. What are the hidden gems?  How do locals experience the place they call home? Where do they go on vacation? Where would they take friends and family who come to visit? Not only does this give you a more authentic experience, you’ll often have the opportunity to support more locally-owned businesses when you get off the beaten tourist track.

To Travel Is to Learn

As a responsible traveler, it’s important to always be open to learning and dissecting our cultural biases. Travel can be so much richer through learning about the issues and history that have affected people and contributed to shaping their culture.

I really  don’t want you to feel like you’re on a school field trip here. This is all about understanding a place and people more fully so you can connect and build better relationships. It all comes down to relationship building, and learning is an important part of that journey.

Check out all the posts in the Engage with Culture category here .

Support Local Communities

Supporting the community  is all about supporting the local economy and community development. 

Supporting local businesses and artisans is a big part of responsible travel. Tourism is the largest industry in the world, yet the majority of tourist dollars don’t stay in the community that tourists travel to. It’s a complex issue, but a good start is to seek ways to support small, local businesses so that the money you spend will stay in the community and help build the local economy. I’ll be offering lots of suggestions for doing this in my travel guides and other posts!

Volunteer Responsibly

Voluntourism is yet another term that you’ve probably seen thrown around, and people have all sorts of arguments to make about it.  I’m not going to issue a blanket statement one way or another. Unfortunately, we’ve seen that good intentions aren’t enough, and volunteering  can be done in really damaging ways. I approach this topic with a bit of wariness toward feel-good marketing tactics that I often see. At the same time, I’ve volunteered overseas numerous times, and I don’t assume that all volunteer trips are having a negative impact.

We have to seek to be responsible when volunteering, and I plan to dig into this topic more in future posts about ways that can be done.  If volunteering can be done in a way that truly supports local efforts and does not undermine them, it can be beneficial to all involved. 

Check out all the posts in the Support the Community category here .

Protect the Environment

Protecting the environment  is all about minimizing our negative impact on the environment of the places we’re visiting.

Ecotourism is the first thing that many people think of when they hear the term  sustainable tourism . It has gained a lot of momentum in the last decade or two–to the point of being a bit “trendy”–but it still has a long way to go.

One of the challenges, like sustainable tourism in general, is that there is no broadly recognized definition or certification. A company can easily claim it is “green” because it encourages you to reuse your bathroom towels…meanwhile, its presence on a Caribbean beach is harming coral reef or disturbing jungle habitats. 

So I’ll be exploring ways to be more eco-friendly when traveling, and I’ll include eco-friendly lodging, restaurants, and tours in various locations through my travel guides.

Leave No Trace in Outdoor Adventure

While Roaming the Americas isn’t explicitly about outdoor adventure, connecting with nature has long been part of my life and the way I love to experience a place. Enjoying nature in responsible ways is an important aspect of responsible travel.

The Leave No Trace movement that has taken shape in the U.S. and around the world gives some guiding principles for interacting with nature in a sustainable way, and its goals focus on encouraging individuals to adopt the principles on a personal basis.

So as I write about nature and outdoor adventure here, the Leave No Trace principles will be guiding those experiences.  While we can enjoy nature and outdoor adventure, we also have a responsibility to protect it and make sure our presence doesn’t have a negative impact. It’s up to us to protect what we love.

Check out all the posts in the Protect the Environment category here .

The Journey for Good Manifesto

So what all this boils down to is this little manifesto, and I created a free printable for all of you who are in this awesome community! Get your free Journey for Good Manifesto here , and let us see where you take it with the hashtag #journeyforgoodmanifesto on Instagram!

In the Roaming the Americas community, we will seek to journey for good when we travel in the following ways:

• Take ownership of the impact that our presence has on the local culture, economy, and environment.
• Respect the places we travel to, knowing that we’re entering someone else’s home.
• Tell stories and take photographs with respect, dignity, and honesty.
• Never stop learning.

You might also like:

• Responsible Travel Guide: Western Maine
• Responsible Travel Guide: Burlington, Vermont
• Things to Do in Vermont: Burlington Edible History Tour

Travel Photographer | FAA Certified Drone Pilot

Naomi is the coffee-loving, crazy-about-Latin-America writer and photographer behind everything here. She's guided by curiosity and a belief that every place has a story to tell–whether it’s through the intricate details of nature, history that has shaped a culture, or the people who call a place home. Learn More

What is Responsible Tourism and Why You Should Care

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What is responsible tourism, you ask? Well, you may have heard of ethical tourism, ecotourism, and sustainable tourism. Or perhaps someone else mentioned why they are essential too. However, responsible tourism is not as widely discussed. As a result, it often falls under the radar, until now. 

Ethical tourism, responsible tourism, ecotourism, and sustainable tourism are similar yet different. Each type of tourism combines traveling and learning how to be more mindful travelers. But responsible tourism can be all-encompassing and does not have to stop when you return home. 

Engaging in responsible tourism is not new. And there are many responsible tourism examples and practices out there. So here’s a breakdown of responsible tourism and why you should care about being a responsible tourist .

Table of Contents

What is responsible tourism?

Tourism itself is one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to help stimulate economies worldwide. Whether it is a sustainable way to do so is still up for debate. But people have been trying to make it happen.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), responsible tourism is about respecting the world and its differences, no matter how we travel. Advancements pre the COVID-19 pandemic made travel more accessible. As a result, more people were traveling than ever before, from ridiculously cheap flights to the rise of the hotel-alternative Airbnb . 

But what is the impact of more accessible travel? What happens when overtourism occurs in tourist hotspots? How do we minimize people being displaced by tourism? These are the questions responsible tourism seeks to answer and provide new approaches. 

Responsible tourism is about minimizing the social, economic, and environmental effects of tourism on destinations worldwide. It is about making travel more sustainable for locals and tourists alike. Responsible travel is our duty, in any way that we can, as we explore.

Understanding the differences between responsible tourism, ethical tourism, sustainable tourism, and ecotourism

Responsible tourism, ethical tourism, sustainable tourism, and ecotourism are often lumped together. They are used interchangeably to describe the impact of tourism practices. And yes, they do sound the same. Yet, they are different.

Ethical tourism is meant to encourage tourists and tourism operators to evaluate our decisions and the ethical implications of our actions. Ethics of tourism often arise with animal tourism and the animal abuse that occurs. But ethical tourism also refers to thinking about the local people in tourist destinations and how tourism affects their lives. 

Sustainable tourism encompasses some principles of responsible tourism. However, the UNWTO divides sustainable tourism into three detailed parts. They are as follows:

– Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes, and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity .

– Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities , conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance.

– Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.

Shortened from ecological tourism to ecotourism, it is closest in definition and practice to sustainable tourism. However, each one is distinct. Ecotourism leans more into the environmental implications of tourism. It primarily refers to learning from and observing nature while traveling. 

Ecotourism focuses on local organizations leading tourism in their natural environments. Ecotourism also concentrates on conservation and understanding the cultural significance of natural habitats. In some cases where countries need the natural environment to survive, they require tourists to sign an ecotourism pledge.

Responsible tourism essentially encompasses practices from ethical tourism, sustainable tourism, and ecotourism.  However, responsible travel has a slightly broader focus. Similar to the Tourism 4 SDGs , responsible tourism touches on multiple lanes of other types of tourism. 

However, for more in-depth knowledge and context of the environment, one may use sustainable tourism or ecotourism. And for questions of conduct and ethics, while traveling, some would refer solely to ethical tourism. It truly depends on the audience and the discussion!

Why is responsible tourism important to travelers?

Responsible travel goes beyond our visit to a destination. Responsible tourism can transform how we view ourselves and others. When you travel with a responsible tourism mindset, your adventures stay with you long after your trip.

Intercultural understanding is also vital to responsible tourism and conscious traveling . Our adventures enhance this intercultural understanding by bringing people together. Often, we meet people who would not have the opportunity to get to know otherwise. These experiences can happen in a cooking class while you learn about local cuisine or during a conversation at a market. 

Responsible tourism encourages these encounters for us to have a more immersive experience. We are moved to engage with locals and other travelers. However, responsible tourism is also about reciprocity. As responsible travelers, we must not forget that either.

While intercultural understanding can be one benefit, there are others to consider that de-center tourists’ transformation. Luckily, the World Travel & Tourism Council has compiled why responsible tourism is vital to local communities. Their list includes:

• A better community for residents that can be reinvested in local economics
• Create lots of jobs (pre-COVID 1 in 10 people were employed in tourism)
• Promotes more creativity and entrepreneurship for locally-owned small businesses
• Access to opportunities for people of historically underinvested populations (women, Black and brown people, disabled people, etc.)
• Preserves the cultural heritage of destinations as 40% of people identify as “cultural tourists”
• Revitalize and preserve wildlife, restrict illegal poaching, and promote conservation
• Encourage more sustainable technology and innovation

The list that the World Travel & Tourism Council compiled was a start. And there are still questions of the economic sustainability of tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, responsible tourism is evolving just as often as we are in society. Moreover, each country has its own cultural and historical traditions. Therefore each destination’s concept of responsible tourism can vary.

Responsible tourism examples

Due to the cultural diversity of each destination, responsible tourism is not a one size fit all situation. However, for some examples of responsible tourism practices, check out how these destinations view the sector. They are fascinating, innovative, and promote the responsible tourism we want to see.

Hawai’i

Though branded as a paradise for tourists, there is more than meets the eye with Hawai’i . Native Hawaiians will tell you this too. It is known as the endangered species capital of the world. They also are under illegal occupation by the United States, which you can learn about from this documentary called Act of War . Remember understanding a destination’s history is part of being a responsible traveler!

But Hawaiians are trying to reclaim the narrative of Hawai’i’s tourism. The book Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Hawai’i outlines more of this history and is written by Native Hawaiians. More resources such as the Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawai’i , the Pono Pledge for Big Island, and the Aloha Pledge for Kauai on sustainable and responsible travel. Even as you travel to Big Island, you will find responsible tourist tips such as honoring sacred places on the island by not climbing on them or leaving trash anywhere.

South Africa

In 1996, South Africa became the first country to include responsible tourism in its national tourism policy. This white paper outlined the guidelines for responsible tourism. These guidelines were declared the Cape Town Declaration and included:

• minimizing negative economic, environmental, and social impacts;
• generating greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of the host;
• involving local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances;
• making positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world’s diversity;
• providing more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social, and environmental issues;
• providing universal access to tourists with disabilities, the elderly, and families with young children; and
• maintaining cultural sensitivity, engendering respect between tourists and hosts, and building local pride and confidence.

It also outlines the role of each player involved in responsible tourism. South Africa says that responsible tourism entails:

• tourism industry responsibility to the environment, through the promotion of balanced and sustainable tourism and a focus on environmentally-based tourism activities;
• responsibility of government and business to involve the local communities that are in close proximity to tourism infrastructure and attractions, through the development of meaningful economic linkages;
• responsibility of tourists, business and government to respect, invest and develop local cultures, and protect them from over-commercialization and over-exploitation;
• the responsibility of local communities to become actively involved in the tourism industry, to practice sustainable development, and to ensure the safety and security of visitors;
• the responsibility of both employers and employees in the tourism industry, both to each other and the customer (responsible trade union and employment practices); and
• responsible government and the responsibility on the part of tourists to observe the norms and practices of South Africa.

They also have different aspects of responsible tourism, including community-based tourism. One example of this is the Kassiesbaai Cultural and Craft Centre in Arniston. Kassiesbaai is a fishing village near Cape Agulhas, the most southern tip of Africa. The local community created the center to encourage and develop home industries and assist in social upliftment. The craft center helps women to learn skills to earn an income to support their families and depend less on seasonal incomes from fishing. 

Palau 

Like Hawai’i’s pledge in Kauai and Big Island, Palau was the first to have an eco-pledge. A small island, Palau has a deep history of environmental conservation. Due to its ecosystem and reliance on the land for survival, Palau has one of the most intense (and necessary) pledges. The children of Palau even drafted the Palau Pledge. You are required to get a stamp in your passport upon arrival with the Palau pledge and sign it.

Palau is vulnerable to climate change and other natural catastrophes. Therefore they take their sustainable tourism seriously. For example, tour operators are banned from using single-use plastic, and tourists are fined for violating the pledge. There are initiatives to focus on local food production instead of exportation too. 

These are just a few of the many responsible tourism measures Palau enforces to preserve itself for future generations. In addition, Palau is in the process of becoming the first carbon-neutral tourism destination! How amazing is that?

Why should you care about responsible tourism?

Tourism will not survive without responsible tourism. Point blank period. If you love visiting new places, meeting new people, and engaging with new cultures, you need to prioritize responsible tourism. Preserving history, culture, and the environment makes those experiences possible. 

Before COVID-19, tourism accounted for 10% of the global gross domestic product (GDP). This fact means that tourism and the economy go hand-in-hand. Even though we may be tourists, the locals are not. People around the world build their lives around tourism. They need it to survive and provide for their families. 

Tourism is more than money. It is about people. Our travels are nothing without the locals. We cannot have half of the experiences, such as cooking classes, nature excursions, etc., without locals. They take care of their countries year round. We owe it to them to treat their homes with dignity and respect. Responsible traveling does just that. 

How to be a responsible tourist 

Responsible tourism practices can be a slight learning curve. But now that we have broken down what responsible tourism is and why it is important let’s apply our knowledge. Here are some examples of responsible tourism to help you embody the practices of being a responsible tourist. 

Unpack your travel privileges

When we think about how to be a responsible tourist, we often forget the self-reflection process. However, there is some internal work we need to do to be responsible tourists externally. Understanding our travel privileges is one way we can do that.

Our social identities influence how we show up in the world. The barriers we do or do not face are correlated with our identities. We should process how race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, citizenship, etc., affect how and why you travel. Processing how they affect us at home can help us be more conscious travelers abroad. Write them down, reflect, and repeat. 

Learn about cultural appropriation vs. appreciation

Remember that intercultural understanding and open-mindedness? Well, with your newfound knowledge of responsible tourism comes tremendous responsibility (corny, I know). But this means assessing situations to know when it is or is not appropriate to participate in cultural activities while traveling.

Cultural appropriation vs. cultural appreciation is one of the most talked-about travel dilemmas. When is it appropriate to participate? What are power dynamics at play? Educating ourselves, especially if you are a tourist from the Global North (also known as a “developed” country) is essential. Read this post to get some insight. 

Be mindful of animal-centered activities

Animal-focused activities are when ethical tourism and responsible tourism converge the most—finding ethical wildlife practices while traveling can be difficult. Many tourist sites can be misleading. However, resources, such as distinguishing an authentic elephant sanctuary by PETA , are helpful tools to use. It takes some research, but it is worth every Google search.

These are not the only ways to be a responsible tourist. There are more responsible tourist tips to learn, always! We need to hold ourselves accountable. For more in-depth responsible tourism examples and how to be a responsible tourist, check out these 25 tips here . 

Responsible tourism is necessary for the future of travel

Responsible tourism impacts us all. I hope this article helped you understand what responsible tourism is, how to be a responsible tourist, and examples of responsible tourism! It is a necessary topic to discuss. Taking these steps and keeping all of this information in mind can transform the tourism industry. It helps all of us travel more intentionally and, of course, more responsibly.

Did you know overcoming culture shock helps you be a responsible tourist? Read more to find out.

Like this post? Pin it for later!

Sojourner White is a remote social worker, train travel queen, and award-winning travel journalist. Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin she has been a digital nomad and called both Spain and Germany home. Through her platform Sojournies, she helps 9-5ers fulfill their career goals and bucket list dreams to find freedom and flexibility outside the office. Sojourner has been featured in Buzzfeed, PopSugar, The Matador Network, HuffPost, and Thrillist and written for Travel + Leisure, USA Today, Fodor’s, Insider, Lonely Planet, Viator, and more.

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• Travel Tips

What Is Responsible Tourism?

Published: December 12, 2023

Modified: December 28, 2023

by Willow Carpenter

• Plan Your Trip
• Sustainability

Introduction

In recent years, the concept of responsible tourism has gained significant traction in the travel industry. As travelers become more aware of the impact their choices have on the environment, local communities, and cultural heritage, there is a growing demand for a more sustainable and ethical approach to travel. Responsible tourism, also known as sustainable tourism or eco-tourism, seeks to minimize the negative impacts of tourism while maximizing the positive benefits.

Responsible tourism goes beyond simply minimizing one’s carbon footprint or supporting local economies. It encompasses a commitment to preserving and respecting the natural and cultural heritage of destinations, promoting social inclusivity, and fostering economic development in local communities. It aims to create a balance between the needs of travelers, the environment, and local residents, creating a more harmonious and mutually beneficial relationship.

This article will delve into the definition of responsible tourism, explore its principles, highlight its benefits, discuss the challenges in implementing responsible tourism, and provide examples of responsible tourism practices.

By understanding and practicing responsible tourism, travelers can contribute to the preservation of our planet’s ecosystems, support local businesses and communities, and engage in meaningful cultural exchanges. Whether you are an avid adventurer, a cultural enthusiast, or a leisure traveler, incorporating responsible tourism principles into your travel habits can make a significant difference in preserving our world for future generations.

Definition of Responsible Tourism

Responsible tourism can be broadly defined as a way of traveling that takes into consideration the environmental, social, and economic impacts of tourism activities. It is a concept that encourages travelers to make conscious choices that minimize harm to the environment and benefit local communities and cultures.

At its core, responsible tourism is about creating a positive impact on the destinations visited. This involves being aware of and respecting the natural environment, supporting local businesses, and engaging in cultural exchanges that are respectful and authentic.

Responsible tourism also encompasses the idea of sustainable development, ensuring that the needs of present travelers are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It recognizes the interconnectedness of the environment, economy, and society and seeks to find a harmonious balance among them.

One of the key aspects of responsible tourism is the concept of “leave no trace.” This means minimizing the environmental footprint by taking steps such as reducing waste, conserving resources, and practicing responsible wildlife viewing and conservation. It also involves respecting the cultural and historical heritage of a destination and making an effort to engage with local communities in a sensitive and respectful manner.

Responsible tourism also encourages travelers to support local economies by staying in locally-owned accommodations, eating at local restaurants, and purchasing locally-made products. By doing so, travelers can contribute directly to the economic development of the communities they visit and help create sustainable livelihoods for local residents.

In essence, responsible tourism goes beyond being a passive observer or consumer and instead encourages active participation and engagement with local communities, cultures, and environments. It is about traveling with a sense of responsibility, awareness, and empathy, and leaving a positive and lasting impact on the places we visit.

Principles of Responsible Tourism

Responsible tourism is guided by a set of principles that help shape the actions and behaviors of travelers and the tourism industry. These principles provide a framework for creating a more sustainable and responsible approach to travel. While the specific principles may vary, depending on the source and context, there are a few common principles that are widely recognized in responsible tourism practices:

• Sustainability: The principle of sustainability is at the heart of responsible tourism. It emphasizes the need to minimize negative impacts on the environment, conserve natural resources, and protect biodiversity, while promoting social and economic well-being for local communities.
• Community Engagement: Responsible tourism encourages travelers to engage with local communities and cultures in a respectful and meaningful way. This involves learning about and respecting local customs and traditions, supporting local businesses and initiatives, and fostering cultural exchanges that promote mutual understanding and appreciation.
• Environmental Conservation: Responsible tourism aims to minimize harm to the environment by practicing sustainable and eco-friendly behaviors. This includes reducing waste and pollution, conserving water and energy, and supporting initiatives that promote environmental conservation and protection.
• Respect for Local Laws and Customs: Travelers engaged in responsible tourism understand and respect the laws and customs of the destinations they visit. This includes following local regulations, respecting sacred sites, and being mindful of cultural sensitivities.
• Support for Local Economies: Responsible tourism seeks to benefit local communities by supporting local businesses, such as accommodations, restaurants, and craft industries. By purchasing locally-made products and using local services, travelers can contribute to the economic development of the destination and create sustainable livelihoods for local residents.
• Education and Awareness: Responsible tourism promotes education and awareness among travelers, tour operators, and local communities. This includes providing information and resources to help travelers make responsible choices, raising awareness about the importance of sustainable practices, and promoting cultural and environmental education initiatives.

By adhering to these principles, travelers can play a significant role in preserving and protecting the destinations they visit, while also creating a positive impact on the local communities and the environment.

Benefits of Responsible Tourism

Responsible tourism offers numerous benefits for both travelers and the destinations they visit. By choosing to travel responsibly, individuals can have a positive impact on the environment, local communities, and cultural heritage. Here are some key benefits of responsible tourism:

• Preservation of the environment: Responsible tourism practices help minimize the negative impact of travel on the environment. By practicing sustainable behaviors such as reducing waste, conserving resources, and supporting eco-friendly initiatives, travelers contribute to the preservation of natural habitats, biodiversity, and ecosystems.
• Social and economic empowerment: Responsible tourism can greatly benefit local communities by supporting local businesses and creating sustainable livelihoods. By staying in locally-owned accommodations, eating at local restaurants, and purchasing locally-made products, travelers directly contribute to the economic development of the destination. This helps create employment opportunities, reduce poverty, and empower local residents.
• Cultural exchange and understanding: Responsible tourism encourages travelers to engage with local communities and cultures in a respectful and meaningful way. This fosters cultural exchange, promotes mutual understanding and respect, and helps preserve traditional customs and practices. It provides travelers with a deeper and more authentic travel experience, allowing them to learn from and appreciate different cultural perspectives.
• Environmental education: Responsible tourism encourages travelers to learn about and appreciate the natural environment of the destinations they visit. By participating in eco-friendly activities, such as nature walks, wildlife conservation projects, or responsible diving practices, travelers gain a better understanding of the importance of environmental conservation and become advocates for sustainable practices in their own lives.
• Avoiding overtourism: Responsible tourism promotes a more sustainable approach to travel by encouraging travelers to visit lesser-known destinations or off-peak times. This helps distribute the economic benefits of tourism more evenly, reduces the strain on popular tourist destinations, and mitigates overtourism, which can lead to environmental degradation and cultural erosion.

Overall, responsible tourism allows travelers to not only explore the world but also make a positive difference. By engaging in responsible practices, individuals can contribute to the preservation of natural and cultural heritage, support local communities, and ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy the wonders of our planet.

Challenges in Implementing Responsible Tourism

While responsible tourism offers numerous benefits, there are several challenges that need to be addressed in order to effectively implement it. These challenges stem from various factors, including lack of awareness, economic considerations, and infrastructure limitations. Here are some of the main challenges faced in implementing responsible tourism:

• Lack of awareness and education: One of the key challenges is the lack of awareness and understanding among travelers, tour operators, and local communities about the principles and practices of responsible tourism. Many people may not be aware of the negative impacts of tourism or the potential benefits of responsible practices. Education and awareness campaigns are needed to promote responsible tourism and encourage widespread adoption.
• Economic considerations: Implementing responsible tourism practices may require additional investment and resources, which can be a challenge for small businesses or developing destinations. It may involve making changes to infrastructure, adopting sustainable practices, and training staff, all of which require financial resources. Finding a balance between economic viability and sustainability can be a challenge, but it is crucial to ensure the long-term success of responsible tourism.
• Lack of government support and regulation: The absence of government support and regulation can hinder the implementation of responsible tourism practices. Governments play a crucial role in setting policies, enforcing regulations, and promoting sustainable tourism initiatives. Without clear guidelines and support from authorities, it can be difficult for businesses and communities to prioritize responsible practices.
• Infrastructure limitations: In some destinations, the lack of appropriate infrastructure, such as waste management systems, sustainable transportation options, and recycling facilities, can pose challenges for implementing responsible tourism. Improving infrastructure to support sustainable practices may require significant investment and coordination between various stakeholders.
• Cultural and social considerations: Balancing the preservation of cultural heritage and the needs of local communities with the demands of tourism can be complex. Responsible tourism requires respecting local traditions and customs, supporting community-led initiatives, and ensuring that tourism does not negatively impact the cultural identity and social fabric of a destination. Achieving this balance can be a challenge, especially in highly popular tourist destinations.

Addressing these challenges requires collaboration and commitment from various stakeholders, including governments, businesses, local communities, and travelers themselves. By recognizing and working towards overcoming these obstacles, responsible tourism can become more mainstream and have a broader positive impact on the environment, communities, and cultural heritage.

Examples of Responsible Tourism Practices

Responsible tourism can take many forms, and there are numerous examples of practices that individuals, businesses, and destinations can adopt to promote sustainability and ethical travel. Here are some examples of responsible tourism practices:

• Supporting local communities: Travelers can support local communities by staying in locally-owned accommodations, dining at local restaurants, and purchasing locally-made products. This ensures that the economic benefits of tourism are shared with the local population, promoting sustainable livelihoods and empowering communities.
• Respecting cultural heritage: Responsible travelers engage with local cultures and heritage in a respectful and meaningful way. This can involve participating in cultural activities, respecting sacred sites, and learning about local customs and traditions. By doing so, travelers not only enrich their own travel experiences but also contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage.
• Protecting the environment: Travelers can minimize their impact on the environment by practicing sustainable behaviors. This includes reducing waste, conserving resources, and supporting initiatives that promote environmental conservation. Examples include using reusable water bottles, avoiding single-use plastics, and participating in beach clean-ups.
• Supporting wildlife conservation: Responsible travelers seek out wildlife experiences that prioritize the well-being and protection of animals. This can involve choosing ethical wildlife sanctuaries and conservation projects that promote animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Responsible travelers also follow guidelines for responsible wildlife viewing, such as maintaining a safe distance and not disturbing the animals’ natural behavior.
• Responsible trekking and hiking: For outdoor enthusiasts, responsible trekking and hiking practices are crucial to minimize environmental impact. This includes sticking to designated trails, avoiding littering, and respecting wildlife and plant life. Additionally, it is important to book with responsible tour operators that prioritize environmental sustainability and support local communities.
• Reducing carbon footprint: Travelers can reduce their carbon footprint by choosing eco-friendly transportation options, such as taking public transportation or cycling, and opting for accommodations that have implemented energy-saving practices. Additionally, carbon offset programs can be utilized to compensate for the emissions generated during travel.
• Engaging in voluntourism: Voluntourism allows travelers to contribute to local communities through meaningful volunteer work. This can involve activities such as teaching English, building sustainable infrastructure, or participating in environmental restoration projects. It is essential to engage in voluntourism through reputable organizations that ensure positive and sustainable impacts on the local communities.
• Supporting sustainable tourism certifications: Look for accommodations, tour operators, and destinations that have obtained recognized sustainability certifications, such as Green Globe or Travelife certification. These certifications ensure that the businesses and destinations adhere to specific sustainability criteria and have implemented responsible practices.

By incorporating these examples of responsible tourism practices into our travel routines, we can make a positive impact on the environment, support local communities, and create a more sustainable and ethical approach to travel.

Responsible tourism is more than just a trend; it is a necessary and conscientious approach to travel that considers the well-being of the environment, local communities, and cultural heritage. As travelers, we have the power to shape the future of tourism by making responsible choices and supporting sustainable practices.

Throughout this article, we have explored the definition of responsible tourism, the principles it encompasses, the benefits it offers, the challenges in its implementation, and examples of responsible tourism practices. From supporting local communities and protecting the environment to respecting cultural heritage and reducing our carbon footprint, responsible tourism encompasses a wide range of actions that can have a positive impact on destinations around the world.

Implementing responsible tourism practices may come with its challenges, such as lack of awareness, economic considerations, and infrastructure limitations. However, by working together – travelers, businesses, governments, and local communities – we can overcome these challenges and create a sustainable tourism industry that benefits everyone involved.

By choosing responsible tourism, we can create a more harmonious relationship between tourism and the environment, preserving the natural wonders that make our planet unique. We can support local economies, empowering communities and ensuring that tourism brings long-term benefits. And, importantly, we can foster cultural exchange and understanding, celebrating the diversity of human heritage.

As responsible travelers, it is our duty to educate ourselves, make informed choices, and encourage others to do the same. By adopting responsible tourism practices, we can travel the world with a sense of purpose, leaving a positive impact on the places we visit.

So, let us embark on our future travels with a commitment to responsible tourism, forging a path towards a more sustainable and responsible travel industry, one journey at a time.

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Coral reforestation helps restore desolated reefs around Landaa Giraavaru Island on Baa Atoll in the Republic of Maldives.

For travelers, sustainability is the word—but there are many definitions of it

Most people want to support sustainable tourism, even though the concept remains fuzzy.

The word “overtourism” is a relatively new term—but its novelty has not diminished the portent of its meaning: “An excessive number of tourist visits to a popular destination or attraction, resulting in damage to the local environment and historical sites and in poorer quality of life for residents,” according to the Oxford Dictionary .  

As travel recovers from pandemic lows, travelers are once again experiencing the consequences of overtourism at enticing, but crowded, destinations. The UN World Tourism Organization, along with public and private sector partners, marks September 27 as World Tourism Day and uses this platform to discuss tourism’s social, political, economic, and environmental impacts.

This day highlights the importance of sustainable tourism —a framework for engaging travelers and the travel industry at large in supporting goals that include protecting the environment, addressing climate change, minimizing plastic consumption , and expanding economic development in communities affected by tourism.

Getting the facts

A National Geographic survey of 3,500 adults in the U.S. reveals strong support for sustainability. That’s the good news—but the challenge will be helping travelers take meaningful actions. According to the survey—which was conducted in 2019—while 42 percent of U.S. travelers would be willing to prioritize sustainable travel in the future, only 15 percent of these travelers are sufficiently familiar with what sustainable travel actually means.  

( Learn about how to turn overtourism into sustainable global tourism .)

In the National Geographic survey, consumers most familiar with sustainable travel are young: 50 percent are 18 to 34 years old. Among travelers who understand the sustainable travel concept, 56 percent acknowledge travel has an impact on local communities and that it’s important to protect natural sites and cultural places.

The survey has informed National Geographic’s experiential travel and media businesses and sparked conversations for creating solutions around sustainability. Our travel content focuses on environmentally friendly practices, protecting cultural and natural heritage, providing social and economic benefits for local communities, and inspiring travelers to become conservation ambassadors. In short, we see every National Geographic traveler as a curious explorer who seeks to build an ethic of conserving all that makes a destination unique.

Building better practices

National Geographic Expeditions operates hundreds of trips each year, spanning all seven continents and more than 80 destinations. Rooted in the National Geographic Society ’s legacy of exploration, the company supports the Society's mission to inspire people to care about the planet by providing meaningful opportunities to explore it. Proceeds from all travel programs support the Society’s efforts to increase global understanding through exploration, education and scientific research.

National Geographic Expeditions offers a range of group travel experiences, including land expeditions, cruises, and active adventures, many of which take place around eco-lodges that are rigorously vetted for their sustainability practices.  

These independent lodges incorporate innovative sustainability practices into their everyday operations, including supporting natural and cultural heritage, sourcing products regionally, and giving back to the local community.

For example, South Africa’s Grootbos Lodge launched a foundation to support the Masakhane Community Farm and Training Centre. Through this program, the lodge has given plots of land to local people who have completed the training, increasing their income and access to local, healthy foods; so far the program has benefitted more than 138 community members.

As a media brand, National Geographic encourages travelers to seek out and support properties that embrace a mission to help protect people and the environment. Not only do these accommodations make direct and meaningful impacts in their own communities, but staying at one helps educate travelers in effective ways to preserve and protect the places they visit.

Supporting sustainability

The travel industry is crucially dependent on the health of local communities, environments, and cultures. As many experts note, we need to invest in the resiliency of places affected by overtourism and climate change to achieve sustainable tourism.

( Should some of the world’s endangered places be off-limits to tourists ?)

National Geographic’s coverage stresses the importance of reducing our carbon footprint and encourages travelers to step off the beaten path and linger longer, respect cultural differences and invest in communities, reconnect with nature and support organizations that are protecting the planet. Here are 12 ways to travel sustainably , reported by our staff editors.

Storytelling can help by highlighting problems brought on by tourism and surfacing practices and technologies to mitigate negative impacts. A key goal of our storytelling mission at National Geographic Travel is to dig deeper into the topic of sustainable tourism and provide resources, practical tips, and destination advice for travelers who seek to explore the world in all its beauty—while leaving behind a lighter footprint.

For Hungry Minds

Related topics.

• SUSTAINABILITY
• SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
• ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION
• PEOPLE AND CULTURE
• CLIMATE CHANGE

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What is Responsible Travel? Why Is It so Important?

We often talk about travelling responsibly. Today, we’d like to highlight what we mean when we talk about “responsible travel”. Whatever your reason for travelling to a new country is, there are things you can do to make your visit more responsible. Apart from explaining exactly what responsible travel is, we’ve thrown in some tips and tricks to try so you can become a great responsible traveller.

What is a Responsible Traveller?

As opposed to just travelling without a care in the world, responsible travellers consider the impacts of their actions and focus on trying to make choices with positive ripple effects. Those who travel responsibly are simply more socially, culturally and environmentally aware. And there are some simple ways to do this.

It’s actually quite easy to become a responsible traveller. For example, negotiating a fair price for an item at a local shop will help! Why? Well, you’re considering the local culture and economy. These considerate actions will have a small but meaningful and beneficial effect on local communities. It is not only the means by which you choose to travel and the activities you participate in, but also your small, daily actions that can have a meaningful impact, for good or ill!

Whys is Responsible Travel Important?

Travelling can have a negative impact on the world, especially if you stay in giant hotels or eat at chain restaurants, get the hotels to replace your towels every day, or leave the lights or air conditioning on in your room. Being a conscious traveller and travelling responsibly matters. By being a responsible traveller, you can help preserve local communities and cultures, contribute to local economies, and help preserve the environment and wildlife too.

10 Tips on How to be a Responsible Traveller

Support local businesses.

Local businesses benefit greatly from your business. Choose them over big name giants. This starts with choosing a local hotel run by locals. And bonus: Eating and drinking local is a great way to truly immerse yourself in a new culture.

Use public transport

By doing this, you’ll not only reduce your carbon footprint, but you’ll also meet local people and understand the area much better. Hiring a bike, or even walking, is another great way to get around town. Read our responsible travel tips blog on transport for even more ways to get around town!

Choose Ethical Wildlife Activities

Wildlife tourism is a big business centered around profits rather than the well-being of animals. When booking an activity involving wildlife, consider if you will be contributing to the distress of the animals or the wealth of the tour operator.

Dispose Your Waste Properly

Many countries do not properly recycle and burn trash, including plastics, which can be very toxic for locals inhaling the fumes. One easy way to reduce waste is to bring a reusable water bottle that you can fill up with drinkable water from larger jugs in hotels or restaurants. You may also consider not using plastic bags when you shop, or bringing them back home with you so you can properly recycle them.

Dress Appropriately

There are different local standards for dress in each and every country. Some require you to dress modestly, especially in religious areas. Other destinations might be more relaxed. Make sure you check before you travel so you know what will be deemed appropriate, but if you’re in doubt, cover up! For example; for those of you travelling to Thailand, you might want to know how to dress ‘Riap Roy’ when visiting cultural heritage sites and temples.

Bargain Responsibly

Bargaining in local markets is always fun, but try to think of the bigger picture when doing so. Think of how much that extra dollar could help the local artisan promote or maintain his business, rather than just trying to “win” over a dollar.

Learn a language

Learning the local lingo, or local greeting gestures, is a great way to show locals that you are making an effort to learn their language. Some of our projects in Ecuador , Costa Rica and Peru enable you to learn a language during your volunteering experience!

Spread Your Responsible Travel Savviness

The more we all know about how to travel responsibly, the better the world will be. So go ahead, share your knowledge and help your friends and family be responsible travellers too!

Travel with Kaya and volunteer

Give back to the community you are visiting! We pride ourselves on providing sustainable and ethical projects that contribute positively to communities, the local environment and all forms of wildlife. All of our projects are vetted, so you will have complete peace of mind while volunteering with us. Working to give back to local communities while protecting the world’s ecosystems is a brilliant way to travel responsibly.

There are plenty of other ways you can travel in a responsible way, if you want more ideas then head over to our responsible travel page ! If you’ve decided that you’d like to be a responsible traveller with Kaya, then make sure you request a call back or more information from one of our placement advisors today.

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Sustainability Leaders United

Sustainable, responsible, transformative, or regenerative tourism: where is the difference.

A lot of new terminologies have entered the tourism lexicon. The latest travel trends – more conscious, positively impactful, and inclusive to the people and planet – have given rise to concepts like sustainable tourism, responsible tourism, transformative tourism, and regenerative tourism. What does each one mean and how unique are they in their meaning and implementation?

We asked our panel of sustainable tourism specialists how these new terminologies differ from each other and what type of tourism should sustainability leaders focus on (highlighted respondents are available as consultants or speakers ).

Our key takeaways :

• Most practitioners in tourism don’t understand or distinguish between these concepts.
• Each of these terms is built on a foundation of sustainability and elevates specific elements of it.
• All share the same focus: creating a future-proof tourism industry and doing well for people, the planet and wildlife.
• Sustainable tourism is about the long-term viability of travel and tourism, about positive change and about supporting our planet. With the 17 UNSDGs it has a set of clearly defined goals, and is therefore easy(ier) to monitor and measure in practice.
• Responsible tourism focuses on the accountability of each actor. It is to be expected from businesses to act responsibly.
• Regenerative tourism seeks to not just maintain but improve a destination. It is a step further, actually enhancing rather than just sustainaing a destination (or the industry as a whole).
• Leaders should focus on regenerative tourism that moves sustainability up a level: it is not only about minimizing the negative impacts and damage but going beyond and restoring that damage to make the places heal and flourish.

Brian Mullis

Regenerative tourism is a sustainable, inclusive, and fluid process that is context-specific and guided by principles that involve stakeholders collectively creating the conditions for the tourism system to improve the overall health and well-being of all living systems in a destination over time, enabling them to thrive and for tourism to create net positive impacts.

Transformational travel is an approach that can be designed and implemented to support travellers who are intentionally travelling to stretch, learn and grow into new ways of being and engaging with the world. This involves inspiring travelers to be more mindful of where they go, how they consume, and how they leave and continue to engage with a destination.

Jonathon Day

Each of these terms is built on a foundation of sustainability. Each elevates specific elements of sustainability. From responsible tourism which focuses on the accountability of each actor, to regenerative tourism that seeks to not just maintain but improve. Leaders now should recognize the fundamentals and work to achieve the promise.

Kelly Bricker

Each term assists in getting the message out that we must do better in ensuring the long-term viability of our planet and ensure that tourism is one of many mechanisms affecting positive change, and transforming the power of tourism to support our planet and all living beings within.

Vicky Smith

Sustainable tourism – Visiting and experiencing others’ places, the impact of which (whether on people, places or species) is not negative so can be continued ad infinitum .

Responsible tourism – taking responsibility for the decisions made in tourism and the impacts created as a result, and a consciousness of it.

Transformative – tourism which causes a change; by implication positive.

Regenerative – it not only creates positive change but creates conditions for renewal, revitalization, and onward evolution. Natural, holistically considered as part of the ecosystem which means vitally complete systems change – a change in attitudes, targets, measures, and priorities cannot function the same way as before as a result.

Of course, leaders should focus on regenerative and move from our old purely economic GDP models of capitalism which have been shown to fail, creating exploitation, overtourism, and damage. However, most people are still purely profit and self-focused, even if they are supposedly in responsible or sustainable tourism (greenwashing).

Aivar Ruukel

It is mostly about fashion, some terms become trendy, and some others go out of fashion. Of course, there are a small group of sustainability experts who can see the differences in these concepts, but for the tourism sector and audience (tourists), it is just a game of buzzwords.

Alexandra Pastollnigg

To me: I’d define it almost the same as ‘responsible’, just that we have the benefit of the 17 SDGs clearly defined, that’s why I think ‘sustainable’ is a better term (except that it leads to the above confusion).

Responsible tourism better captures the concept that each of us is responsible for our actions, a necessary value/ingredient for sustainability. Both terms are closely interlinked.

Transformative best captures SDGs 4 and 16 but isn’t as holistic as sustainable tourism.

Regenerative tourism is a sub-segment of sustainable tourism, focused on SDGs 14 and 15 , depending on the usage also SDG 3 (for travellers).

Ally Dragozet

I would say they are all related concepts, regenerative tourism is taking it a step further and making sure you are giving back to the local environment, community and economy.

Amine Ahlafi

The capital of the tourism industry is anchored to its environment and in the culture of the communities concerned. Sustainable tourism must be fully and not partially concerned with the environmental and socio-cultural ecosystems that it promotes. It is indeed a holistic and non-segmented approach.

Anna Spenceley

Definitions relating to sustainable tourism are plentiful (as are definitions of ecotourism etc). Sometimes new ones can be useful to draw attention to particular issues (as have pro-poor tourism, inclusive tourism, or biodiversity-based tourism for example), but they can also detract from actually getting on with implementing it.

For the sake of argument and to illustrate, here are definitions of each to pick and choose from (but then a web search will reveal many variations):

• Responsible Tourism

From the International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations (2002) The Cape Town Declaration, Cape Town, r esponsible tourism is defined as:

• minimizes negative economic, environmental, and social impacts
• generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities, improves working conditions and access to the industry
• involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances
• makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world’s diversity
• provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social, and environmental issues
• provides access for physically challenged people
• is culturally sensitive, engenders respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence
• Regenerative tourism

Regenerative tourism is “creating the conditions for life to continuously renew itself, to transcend into new forms, and to flourish amid ever-changing life conditions” (Hutchins and Storm, 2019) – through tourism.

• Transformative tourism

Transformative is defined as ‘causing a marked change in someone or something’ ie. The difference with transformation is the ‘causing’ – it doesn’t just happen passively, the change is prompted. What this means is tourism which transforms the guest or tourist through their personal experience, and is caused to do so.

Anne de Jong

It does not. In the end, the focus of all concepts is the same: creating a future-proof tourism industry and doing well for people, the planet and wildlife. We should all aim to make a difference and care less about what we call it. All these new names are a way of sub-niching sustainable travel and I feel some are more focused on the concept than actually turning it into practice.

Antonio Abreu

In my opinion, sustainable tourism leaders should avoid the proliferation of concepts. Sustainability is enough and includes any other process or sub-concept such as transformation, responsible or regenerative. Sustainability implies any of these and stressing each of these topics as main subjects only bring confusion and misunderstanding, not always beneficial.

Antonis Petropoulos

Under the long shadows of the climate crisis and the pandemic, the short answer is there is no difference.

The long answer is that competing academic, marketing, economic and socio-political interests and stakeholders create an endless series of adjectival tourisms , which are initially vaguely defined until they acquire some sort of legal base, i.e. a country passing a law for spearheading/funding ‘regenerative tourism’ in an affected area, and this law requires specific qualitative and quantitative criteria.

Audrey Scott

Traditionally, sustainable tourism uses more criteria and certification, especially in relation to the environment, than other forms of tourism. While it is important to maintain a minimum standard of “do no harm”, there should be a greater focus on “providing positive value” and finding ways to measure socioeconomic and other benefits.

In addition, sustainable tourism and leaders should more openly and holistically address the climate crisis and ways to limit carbon emissions that go beyond buying offsets.

Beatriz Barreal

On the reality of making tourism the engine to care, conserve and regenerate socio-environmental ecosystems, and the one raising awareness on the cultural capital, as a systemic view and action plan. Take the responsibility that corresponds to being the means to achieve the goal, makes us aware of what we have inherited.

Christian Baumgartner

There are no clear definitions – neither for one nor the other. In essence, responsible, transformative, and regenerative tourism cover aspects, which are also part of sustainable tourism.

Christof Burgbacher

Sustainable tourism is the holistic approach and that is exactly what leaders should focus on. It makes no sense to be perfect in certain areas and neglect others. Customers are rarely looking for perfection but are looking for constant improvement in all areas of sustainable development.

Darrell Wade

Sustainable tourism does what it says on the tin – it’s a business that is sustainable for the long term because the financial, environmental, social, and governance principles that underpin it are in harmony with each other and not competing. By doing this all stakeholders have a vested interest in the outcome and ensure the long-term success of the project.

Elisa Spampinato

New terms are emerging that show conscious reflections on the ways in which tourism could be improved to better serve a destination by changing its traditional ‘extractive’ character. New theories have been produced about possible future paths.

Rather than seeing the above terms as antagonists, therefore, I prefer to look at them as complementary pairs of glasses. At the core, they all respond to the same need to make tourism a more conscious, positively impactful, and inclusive sector.

Sustainable tourism, in my opinion, is the general approach of continuously imagining how to maintain over time a balance between all the aspects of life affected by the sector.

In practice, however, we have realised that it is difficult to take all the variables into account and work with them at the same time if we do not adopt a holistic approach. But this is difficult because we are used to working with them separately, and also we are quite unfamiliar with some dimensions.

We have moved away from considering tourism only from an economic perspective, and we have since long included into the picture also the social, cultural and environmental dimensions, even though we still do not know how to integrate them. On this, I believe, the regenerative tourism approach has a lot to contribute.

However, I still consider it relevant to talk about sustainable tourism because it is helping us to think in terms of balance – forcing us to consider the change as a structural and inevitable part of the process while expanding our vision of tourism beyond the economic aspect, and including the social disparities, the lack of inclusion and gender equality issues into the bigger picture.

We are now definitely more aware of the existence of the local communities and their ancestral heritage, even though we are still disconnected from them, and of the environmental damages we are causing, even though sometimes we feel powerless. Moreover, talking about sustainability in tourism constantly obliges us to place ourselves and our activities on the timeline. Looking to the past as well as to the near future compels us to take conscious actions.

Responsible tourism, in the way I look at it, is a form of self-reflection and involves a lot of self-questioning. It focuses on the awareness of the impacts that our actions, habits, and choices we make while travelling. It applies in the first instance to the tourists’ behaviour, of course, but also to the whole hospitality sector and all the stakeholders involved, not only on the ground.

How my choice of food, entertainment, etc will affect the place that is kindly hosting me? 

Because all our choices have an impact. We moved away from the idea of “leaving no trace”. We are guests in a land far from home, and even if our presence will have an impact -whether we like it or not- we can still choose the kind of impact we can have.

Am I creating more social disparities with my choices, more unnecessary pollution with my habits, more discrimination with my attitudes, and more cultural stigma and preconception with my demands? These are some of the questions that a responsible tourist should ask himself.

There is also another set of questions that a responsible tourist should address to the tour operators, a practice that is happening more frequently nowadays. 

• How the local community is involved in your operations, how the interaction with the local community is structured?
• Do they participate in the designing of the experience? 
• What is left to the local community at the end of the process?

These are the questions we should keep asking ourselves, eager to find the answers, even if we may not like them, because they may suggest that we change our habits, and potentially our journey.

Responsible tourism, as I see it, is a form of education and an ethical set of behaviours, towards the place, seen in terms of the natural environment and traditions, as well as towards the people, considered both as social and human beings, as well as to be cultural beings too.

And, most importantly, there is a crucial question that should arise from these reflections: how can we do things differently? And this question of course is addressed both to the tourists and to the tour operators.

Transformative tourism, I believe, is particularly important at this moment in time, because it helps us reflect on how we approach the tourism experience, as tourists, as well as tourism professionals.

Is this just a holiday or can it be an opportunity to rediscover myself, my purpose in life, and most importantly, reconnect with the world and the people around me?

It is a matter of, consciously, getting out of the bubble we all constantly live in and ‘use’ tourism as a gate to reconnect on a higher level. What transformational tourism teaches us, ultimately, is to let go of our ego and embrace tourism for what it has always been: an open and unexpected encounter with the unknown. And from them, we can grow as human beings and expand our consciousness. It is a great opportunity, indeed, I think.

Regenerative tourism, I believe, gives us an innovative interpretation. It seems to have gathered some attitudes, practises, and approaches already existing at the grassroots level and in other disciplines and scientific areas of knowledge and applied them to tourism.

The regenerative tourism approach is holistic at its core, its structure is flexible, horizontal, and inclusive, and strongly practice-oriented.

I believe that regenerative tourism could answer many of the questions that sustainable tourism has not been able to answer yet. Its strength relies on focusing on the connections that exist between the isolated silos and aims to create a network of practices that inspire collaborative work. It looks at society and organizations as living organisms, which are parts of a bigger picture. This introduces interesting concepts and lenses of interpretation of the reality that can lead to new innovative solutions and to a greater balance.

Elizabeth Becker

Sustainable tourism involves the whole community and hopefully forces the community – from local to national to agree on a plan.

Responsible tourism puts an emphasis on the traveller.

Regenerative and transformative tourism are the solutions to problems that are discovered when figuring out how to be sustainable.

Erik van Dijk

It is all the same: responsibility for mother earth. You name it how you want. Focus on bringing back earth overshoot day to December 31st.

Fiona Jeffery

The clue is in the word ‘sustainable’ – this means it needs to be there for the long term, it implies doing no harm, it is about protection, preservation, conservation, respect, and enhancement.

Frankie Hobro

Sustainable tourism can include all these forms of tourism, but I believe it is more than all these. Sustainability requires a long-term positive transformational change for good, which can be achieved by all these methods but most importantly, it has a long-term application to succeed and requires a dedicated positive change over a significant period of time. So the focus must be maintained on the long-term permanent benefits, although this can be achieved through much smaller short-term or quickly achieved goals, or one or more gradual, longer-term positive changes, or a combination of both.

Gianna Moscardo

I think sustainable tourism, as defined above, is a broader concept that includes responsible tourism and regenerative tourism. Transformative tourism generally refers to transforming individual tourists – it is too tourist and tourism-centric to be sustainable.

It is also based on a set of values that are strongly tied to certain cultures and levels of affluence. I’m not very comfortable with transformative tourism – it seems much more like a way of apologizing for unsustainable tourism than a genuine attempt to make tourism better in terms of sustainability.

Glenn Jampol

Sustaining is no longer an option, now it must be about renewal. Due to the current existential danger of damaging human-made climate change, the desecration of our natural areas and resources, and the urgent need to update the concept of travelling to encompass regenerative forces and behaviour, I now prefer to use regenerative tourism to label our philosophy.

It is a form of tourism that includes considerations of renewal and education, interpretation and proactive commitment, symbiotic and ethical business practices, conservation with renewal and protection of natural resources, foment increased awareness of quality and authenticity, and to inspire a holistic comprehension of the importance of contemplating how we travel and how we might always consider how to help reduce our impact.

Greg Bakunzi

Sustainable tourism is a tourism product that is offered by the locals while responsible tourism is done while respecting the rules or culture of the people that they are visiting.

James Crockett

Sustainable tourism deals with practical requirements for business as normal.

Responsible tourism has a more wide-ranging focus on what tourism can do to make a better place to live and a better place to visit. To me, responsible tourism is the creativity and emotional underpinning of why we want to make tourism more sustainable (the nuts and bolts, cold hard task-driven activities).

Regenerative tourism is to my mind the next evolution, it requires that tourism helps to restore habitat, ecosystems, and cultures to a former, healthier state. It is the latest and most comprehensive attempt to make tourism as transformative in delivering net benefits to a destination as possible.

Joanna Van Gruisen

There is a danger of words losing their meaning when over-used as epithets, so I find it helpful to return to the terms from their original definition, otherwise, they all tend to merge somewhat meaninglessly into one!

From this perspective, each term does differ from the others but does overlap and can be incorporated into each other. Thus if tourism is responsible, then it is likely to be sustainable; if it is sustainable, then it has been responsible.

Transformative tourism is a personal reaction to experiences and, of course, can occur with any tourism, sustainable, responsible, or otherwise. However, it is more likely to be linked with the types of slow tourism termed responsible or sustainable. Practitioners aim to open the eyes of the traveller to a new world perspective through the different cultural local context and thus by definition is likely to be responsible.

Regenerative tourism looks beyond sustainability; it recognizes that we have gone too far in damaging the planet and aspires to give back. It is a way of seeing tourism as a living system within a wider carpet of life. This is where our focus should presently be.

Also, the pandemic restrictions have shown how fragile tourism can be, how its character can disappear and/or change overnight. This is a lesson in the need for tourism not to stand alone but be part of a more diverse web in its locality.

The aim is also to manage tourism in a way that encourages all ‘tourists’ to become ‘travellers’, to be transformed from consumers to symbiotic participants in an ongoing dialogue and exchange with the people and places to which they are travelling. Tourism can be used to bring respect and attention to local practices—crafts and skills and can divert those involved in destructive occupations by providing creative beneficial activities and bringing livelihoods to sustain these. It should be embedded in a social and economic development model matrix.

Jonathan Tourtellot

‘Sustainable’ can be misconstrued as environmental only. Because of that, I originated Nat Geo’s ‘geotourism approach’ (tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, geology, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents), which differs from the other terms mainly by its emphasis on quality and care for the distinctiveness of each destination and its people. Destination assets are a limited resource and should be treated as such.

Jorge Moller Rivas

No big difference, just different ways to do good for the planet and human beings.

Lisa Choegyal

We tend to take a practical and businesslike approach, and whilst the academics can debate the finer points of terminology, what counts is what hits the ground in terms of benefiting the environment and local people whilst helping to open the eyes of (i.e., educate) consumers. As leaders that is what we need to focus on, calling it what you will and supporting whatever is working.

Mariana Madureira

Sustainable tourism is based on the idea of providing tourism and leisure for the current generation without undermining resources to the next.

Regenerative tourism is underpinned by the certainty that it’s too late to search for zero impact, as we have overpassed the limits of consumption and need alternatives that bring back preeminent natural conditions.

In a more modest, but still very important approach, responsible tourism searches are doable and every day better practices for tourists and tourism enterprises – understanding feasibility as the differential approach to reach the mainstream.

Marcus Cotton

All are interlinked and, in many ways just different names for the totality or elements of sustainable tourism. Each focussed on an aspect:

• Responsible tourism to me is merely taking responsibility for sustainability in tourism – something that should be integral to every tourism business the world over
• Transformative tourism is focused on the traveller experience as part of the sustainable tourism paradigm
• Regenerative tourism looks at sustainability in a more proactive light-seeking not merely to mitigate adverse impacts but to ensure positive regeneration of the environment and communities

Marta Mills

– Responsible tourism is more about taking responsibility for your own actions and behaviour to make tourism more sustainable.

– Leaders should focus on regenerative tourism that moves sustainability up a level: it is not only about minimizing the negative impacts (minimising the damage) but going beyond and restoring that damage to make the places heal and flourish.

– It is also imperative to look at the places as living systems; that is interconnected and alive, with so many aspects we need to help thrive.

Megan Epler Wood

I believe we are in a period of crisis and should respond as such. I have lived through some 10 different definitions of sustainable tourism in my 30-year career. I think it is best to look at the nuts and bolts of our situation and get very serious about how to respond to it. This means branding is of less importance in my view than the specific action items required.

Here are a few points to focus on:

• The rapid growth of tourism in the 21st century is leading to damage in destinations that are largely unreported.
• Tourism development is highly unregulated, and its impacts are causing an “invisible burden” on local destinations worldwide.
• Sustainable tourism initiatives change frequently depending on the external funders involved and have not become embedded adequately in local, regional, and national plans to manage climate change and climate resilience.
• There is little being done to create more thorough, holistic oversight.
• The goals of policymakers continue to be driven by gross economic benefit indicators, without an understanding of the costs and final net benefits.

Mike McHugo

Sustainable and responsible tourism I think are words that can and are used to often mean the same. Transformative and regenerative I assume is trying to change/improve.

Natalia Naranjo Ramos

Sustainable tourism nowadays has to involve all these other concepts to be really sustainable. Even so, there are tools to measure sustainability in tourism activity. Sustainable tourism has to be responsible for the communities and environment, has to transform people involved in the activity, and has to regenerate and improve the territories and the environment where it takes place.

Paul Peeters

Sustainable tourism development differs from responsible, transformative or regenerative tourism as it is defined by the impacts of all tourism, rather than a niche-market label and it follows a measurable pathway in terms of its environmental and social impacts.

Peter Richards

I don’t think that there are very big differences between sustainable and responsible tourism in practice. We can say that sustainable tourism is about ideas, and responsible tourism is about defining (and accepting) who will put the ideas into practice. However, in reality, that’s not 100% true because when we implement sustainable tourism, we need to know who will take action. I guess we can say that responsible tourism forces us to consider from the start who needs to work together to put the good intentions of sustainable tourism into practice.

Transformative and regenerative travel are both new, and I don’t have much experience in these fields. Transformative travel seems to put the onus for responsible tourism and sustainable tourism back into the hands of the tourists and uses a more self-aware/spiritual approach. It looks like it has the power to be a very strong movement and inspire powerful change-makers. However, it currently feels perhaps too self-consciously ‘committed’ to be able to reach the mainstream?

Regenerative tourism proposes that we can go beyond aiming for neutrality (balancing give and take) and actually design tourism to fix, repair and give back more.

All of these tools exist. They are all useful. They will all be picked up by different people, depending on their interests, roles, etc. They all fundamentally have much more in common than apart, when compared to the common enemy which is people just not caring about other human beings and the environment, and prioritizing greed. So, I don’t think we need to use too much time comparing. Better to appreciate and learn which tools are the best fit for various challenges. Sustainable tourism is probably now best suited for engaging with mainstream tourism.

Rachel Dodds

I feel that there are nuances between each – for example, responsible tourism was more used by businesses because they all can be more responsible while not always more sustainable.

Regenerative has been more about giving back or making a place better. What I believe leaders should focus on is action – not just definitions.. a new term comes out every couple of years but I feel this just distracts from the issue. If we focus on trying to ensure things aren’t out of balance – that would be more useful in terms of action.

Rebecca Hawkins

These terms are all part of the same family and arguing over terminology (as well as among the sustainable tourism community) is a hindrance to the progress we need to make. A compelling call to action and vision of a common goal is what is needed and now.

Transformative and regenerative tourism for me, are two strategies to improve the balance between using and protecting (improving) our environment to create sustainable tourism. A give and take is possible from both sides, nature, and man, because this is the only way to create a harmonious balance which we need to develop sustainable tourism.

Richard Butler

The named forms of tourism are, if anything, subsets of sustainable tourism, and variations on a theme. Leaders should always focus on outcomes, including all forms of impact.

Richard Hammond

I realize there are subtle differences between all four terms, and that ‘sustainable’ is a rather loose term, but they are all about achieving a more thoughtful, considered approach to tourism that takes into account the climate and biodiversity emergencies.

Shannon Guihan

It is my belief that the focus on definitions is a distraction from the real issue at hand – the need for impact. Leaders are better to focus on the issues they can tackle, through clear goals and measurable results. Without measurable goals bringing positive impacts, what does it matter what we call it? Further than that, without the consumer on board, where are we? The great definition debate certainly doesn’t do the consumer any favours.

Shannon Stowell

I know everyone is tired of the word ‘sustainable’ but it remains a very important concept and goal – to have tourism that helps, not harms. Many of the other terms feel like efforts to have a sexier title for sustainable travel. What matters is the outcome. Is tourism helping a destination as measured by environmental and social health? That’s what matters.

Shivya Nath

The labels are not important. These terms can be used interchangeably. The focus needs to be on redefining tourism itself – to imply a way of travel that is inclusive of local communities and mindful of protecting the natural/cultural heritage of a place.

Sonja Gottlebe

‘Sustainable’ is like the global family name. All others are like surnames for like-minded concepts that embrace the same principles. I think we keep that global family name to spread the word out, but the more radical concepts are for engaged stakeholders who want to go further.

Willem Niemeijer

While there is overlap in the definitions, sustainable tourism could be seen as an umbrella definition under which responsible travel and transformative and regenerative travel find their niche. It does not matter particularly where leaders focus, as long as they are authentic in their efforts it will contribute to a more sustainable tourism industry that inspires.

Xavier Font

Sustainability is the aim and responsibility is the path. We have heard a lot about transformative and regenerative tourism lately but my concern is that most of the time we find old wine in new bottles, and people using these new terms fail to actually suggest new ways of moving forward.

More about the sustainable tourism expert panel here – including previous sessions and answers to some of the most pressing issues linked to making tourism more sustainable.

Do you have a topic in mind that you think needs to be highlighted in 2021? Get in touch !

• by Editorial Team

Beyond Greenwashing: Experts Weigh in on the Realities and Opportunities of Sustainable Tourism

Most Inspiring Sustainable Tourism Champions to Follow in 2023

Sustainable Tourism Development: Key Trends and Priorities in 2023

Innovation for Tourism Sustainability: Challenges to Overcome

Innovation for Tourism Sustainability: Priorities & Opportunities

Innovation for Tourism Sustainability: Examples and Solutions

Achieving Sustainable Tourism: These Are the Key Challenges

Sustainable Tourism 2022 and Beyond: These Are the Keys to Success

Career Choice: Why Focus on Tourism and Sustainability?

What Characterizes a Sustainability Leader in Tourism?

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What can you do to travel responsibly?

Why would a traveler want to travel responsibly.

People travel for many reasons. It may be business travel, for work or business purposes, especially to partake in Meetings, Conferences, Exhibitions and Trade Fairs, or Corporate Events. It may be leisure travel, for a vacation, adventure, hiking, experiencing different cultures, and so on.

In all cases, traveling is within the realm of the tourism industry, the commercial organization and operation of travel and visits to places of interest.

As an industry, tourism has many positive sides: providing jobs ad opportunities, creates wildlife and cultural heritage awareness, and much more. Obviously, there are also negative impacts on local societies, economies and environments, have become very noticeable lately. According to Booking.com’s 2021 Sustainable Travel Report , 81% of travelers say they want to stay in a sustainable accommodation in the upcoming year – which is a notable increase from 62% in 2016 and 74% in 2020, just prior to the pandemic (if you are reading this page, you probably belong in that group!)

Travelers may want to travel more responsibly for many reasons. As visitors, we share the responsibility to act in a responsible manner to protect and respect local customs, and choose services that maximize the positive impacts of tourism. This way of traveling will also allow us to continue traveling for generations to come.

Defining Responsible Travel

Quickly, let’s go back to and define the term Responsible Travel. Responsible Travel is a term used when referring to the behavior of travelers aspiring to make choices on their trip according to sustainable tourism practices.

Sustainable Tourism refers to sustainable practices in and by the tourism industry. Meaning, this term is for those businesses (and governments) that provide services to you, the traveler.

If you’re interested in learning more about the travel terms, read here: What is Sustainable Tourism? or The Difference Between Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism .

How to travel more responsibly?

More resources are becoming readily available to travelers, such as yourself, on how to engage in responsible tourism. Responsible tourism guidelines may seem overwhelming at first, but if you break it down one by one, traveling responsibly can actually be more peaceful and exciting. You can sometimes also save money!

To travel more responsibly, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) encourages business and leisure travelers to choose sustainable accommodations and sustainable travel providers. To know that these businesses are truly sustainable, stay at accommodations and use the services of tour operators that are certified as sustainable. Sustainability certification verifies for you the claims of the business that is indeed sustainable.

Travelers can affect change by asking hotels and other travel providers to gain certification as the most effective means to provide strong evidence that their operations are sustainable.

In short, choose sustainable travel companies.

How to identify sustainable travel companies?

Certified sustainable tour companies and certified sustainable hotels proudly display information regarding their certificate and the certification body that issued it.

However, there are a lot of labels and certifications out there, which may cause confusion: which one is proper? How do I know it’s not just greenwashing?

“Certified to GSTC  Criteria” logo

Sustainability certification (what some call eco-label) is a voluntary third-party assessment through an audit, of accommodations and tour operators for conformity to a sustainable tourism standard. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) recognizes certain sustainability standards as equivalent to the GSTC Criteria. Note that the ‘recognition of the standard’ is not a verification or validation of the quality of the certification process. GSTC does not conduct certification. Certification is conducted by relevant Certification Bodies throughout the world. GSTC accredits those that certify.

Accreditation is a mark of quality that GSTC places on Certification Bodies that choose our independent and neutral process to verify that they certify businesses, in a competent and neutral manner. Some refer to it as ‘certifying the certifiers’.

We recommend travelers choose sustainable travel companies that have been certified by a GSTC-Accredited Certification Body. They display the GSTC logo along with the Certification Body’s logo.

Choose Certified Sustainable Tourism Companies

More resources on how to be a responsible traveler.

1) Read the short guide “ The Responsible Tourist: How to find, book and get the most from your holiday ” by Anna Spenceley & Andrew Rylance.

2) Read EXO Tips Booklet for responsible travelers in the following languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian

3) Read this short article with very useful infographics: Sustainable Travel: Make Sure Your Next Trip is a Green One! by Andrea Moore

4) More tips:

Before Traveling

• Find out as much as possible. Learn if your hotel or tour operator has been certified as sustainable. The more you know about your destination before arriving, the more the destination will come alive. Look into the destination’s history, culture, natural environment, customs, legends, advisory notices and more.
• Learn a few words in the local language. Making an effort to speak the local language allows you to interact with the people who know the site best. People appreciate your efforts and your interest in learning. Simple words like “Hello,”“Please” and “Thank you” can go a long way.
• Pack light. It is tempting to pack everything you think you might need, but remember to be smart about your necessities. If traveling to a developing country, the local laundry service is affordable and is appreciated income to local service providers.
• Lodging choices. Look for hotels that have a written policy covering their environmental impact, employment and cultural policy. The best evidence that a hotel follows a broad range of sustainable practices is if they are certified sustainable by a Certifying Body that is GSTC-Accredited.
• Explore transportation options. Remember that traveling affects the environment. Wherever possible, try to minimize your pollution and impact on the environment by looking to high-occupancy transportation and offsetting your carbon emissions.

While Traveling

• Engage in local culture. The saying, “While in Rome do as the Romans” still applies today. Your trip provides a unique opportunity to explore a new culture and to see the world through a different perspective. Remember that eating local foods, shopping in local markets, and attending local festivals are all part of experiencing the culture.
• Buy local products and services. Choosing to support locally owned businesses, community tour operators, and artisans means that you’ll have a one-of-a-kind experience and your money will go directly to the community. Before purchasing goods, ask about their origin. Avoid buying products made from threatened natural resources and report poaching and other illegal activities to the local authorities.
• Refrain from aggressive bargaining. It’s often difficult to know your limits in bargaining so if you’re not sure, ask your local hotel for tips. Remember that the purchases you make directly affect vendors’ livelihoods, so decide if you really need to hang onto that extra dollar or if it could impact the vendor more.
• Hire local guides. Enrich your experience by choosing local guides who are knowledgeable about the destination. Ask local tour operators and hotels for good recommendations.
• Tread lightly. Destinations are exceptional due to their natural or cultural splendor. Do your part to keep them that way by following designated trails, respecting caretakers, and not removing archaeological or biological treasures from sites.
• Respect the natural environment. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Even though you are just visiting and not paying the utility bill, disposing of your garbage properly and minimizing your consumption of water and energy will benefit the overall destination.
• Reduce consumption of intensive carbon-emission meat products, namely lamb and beef.

After Traveling

• Distribute your responsible travel tips. In addition to telling family and friends about the wonderful memories you made, also consider sharing tips on how they too can positively impact the World while having an amazing journey.
• Share your photos. Pictures can say a thousand words.
• Explore more. Traveling is just the start of learning. Once you return home continue exploring and being involved with the issues or region that captured your attention. Build upon your knowledge and also learn about another fascinating place.
• Give back. Traveling often opens your eyes and heart to something new.

Responsible Travel Tips for Meaningful Experiences on the Road.

Much has changed since I set out on my first solo trip, began my journey as a travel blogger and began to pay attention to responsible travel tips – way back in 2011. Travelling has become more accessible, flights are cheaper than ever before and Instagram has changed the way we view the world.

In the age of overtourism and in the midst of a climate crisis, becoming a responsible traveller is not just a pressing need to protect the incredible natural and cultural heritage of our world. It is also the only way we can still find authentic experiences, engage meaningfully with locals and savor the pristine beauty (or what remains of it) on our planet.

Also read: The Ultimate Guide to Sustainable Fashion in India

Responsible Travel Tips, Definition and Examples

Before jumping into my responsible travel tips based on a decade of meaningful globetrotting, it’s important to understand what it means to be a responsible tourist, no matter where in the world we are.

What exactly is responsible travel?

Is there an official definition of responsible tourism, example of responsible tourism, 1. expand your definition of travel, 2. pick countries under the radar or travel in off-season, useful tips for travelling by air, 4. stay in eco-friendly, local-run accommodations, 5. respect the local culture, 6. walk, cycle or take public transport, 7. slow down and spend more time in one place, 8. carry your own water bottle instead of buying / accepting plastic bottled water, ethical travel tips to reduce plastic, 10. look for zero-waste stores, local markets and small-scale entrepreneurs, 11. say no to zoos and other unethical animal attractions, examples of responsible travel tours around the world, 13. ask for permission when photographing people, 14. eat local and plant-based, 15. be mindful of what you post on social media, my responsible travel guides and recommendations, recommended reading.

Simply put, it is a commitment to travel choices (getting to a destination, where to stay, what to eat, what to do) that are mindful of the environment, inclusive of local communities and soothing for our restless soul. It is often used interchangeably with “sustainable tourism”.

While there are many ways to define responsible tourism, the one that I personally believe in was adopted at the Cape Town Responsible Tourism Declaration :

“Responsible tourism is about making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit.”

According to the UNWTO :

“Responsible tourism takes full account of its current and future economic, social and  environmental impacts, while addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.”

While there are many environmentally and socially responsible travel initiatives out there, one of my favorites is the Black Sheep Inn , set in the remote outpost of Chugchilan at over 10,000 feet in the Ecuadorean Andes. The eco-lodge literally brought tourism, waste management and environmental education to the area, and is well on its way to self-sufficiency in energy, water and food production – thereby scoring admirably on the 3 pillars of responsible tourism (social, environmental and economic).

Also read: Sustainable Living Ideas to Embrace as we Emerge Into a New “Normal”

How to be a responsible traveller: 15 Practical Tips

Based on the past eight years of travelling around the world, I’ve slowly been able to unravel the real life meaning of responsible travel. I’m still learning, and below are my current top travel tips to create a positive environmental, social and economic impact on the destinations we visit:

We need to think beyond sightseeing, and think in terms of art, music, food, history, dance, architecture, environment or whatever else truly holds meaning for us.

It’s hard to go back in time and trace how the popular conception of travel – in which we pick a destination, draw up an itinerary and spend our day (typically taking photos) at the must-do spots – came about. Perhaps it was propelled by a mix of travel agents, misguided ‘best tips’ for travelling lists out there and the rise of guidebooks like Lonely Planet. Or perhaps it is human nature to try to maximize the money spent on taking a trip away from home.

Whatever the reason, this narrative of travel needs to evolve. We need to expand it to encapsulate experiences that stimulate us – and move away from the peer pressure of seeing or doing something just because it’s marketed as THE thing to do. We need to think beyond sightseeing, and think in terms of art, music, food, history, dance, architecture, environment or whatever else truly holds meaning for us.

That way, we can allow places to heal from the pressure of mass tourism while actually enjoying our own handcrafted journey – just the way travelling was meant to be.

Also read: Responsible Travel in India: Incredible, Offbeat, Homegrown Companies Changing the Way we Experience India

Prioritize countries or regions where locals are still genuinely curious to meet travellers.

On my recent trip to Tajikistan , I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that here was a country with some of the most dramatic landscapes on earth – turquoise glacial lakes, rugged peaks, stark vistas – yet visited by so few people. Many would even struggle to name its capital city. On the other side of the world lie the much-romanticized Swiss Alps – now suffering from the ecological damage of having too many visitors!

One way to pursue socially and environmentally responsible travel, and fix this imbalance, is to prioritize countries or regions where locals are still genuinely curious to meet travellers, and can still reap the positive benefits of tourism.

Beautiful though the Swiss Alps are, they don’t compare to my memories of the abundant warmth of people in Tajikistan. While Switzerland is reaching tourism saturation, half of Tajikistan’s population works in Russia and could use some tourism jobs and dollars to draw back its people.

If it’s still the conventional bucket list destinations you’re after though, travel in off-season instead. You can still beat the crowds and support local businesses at Europe’s many Christmas Markets and at snowed-in Indian hill stations that are overrun by tourists in the summer.

Also read: Unusual Solo Travel Destinations to Feed Your Adventurous Spirit

3. Do a land journey – and when you can’t, fly responsibly

Compared to trains and buses, the carbon footprint of flying and even driving is significantly higher.

I began 2019 with a pledge to cut down flying as much as possible. That led me to embark on some epic slow land journeys through the year: Thailand to India via Myanmar , the Persian Gulf to Armenia via the south of Iran , Uzbekistan to Tajikistan and I’ll hopefully end the year overlanding in Africa !

In the process, I’ve realised that a land journey is infinitely more adventurous than hopping on a plane – and can be a “destination” unto itself. The challenge of visas and land borders aside, it hearkens back to the days of famous travellers like Ibn Batutta and Hiuen Tsang.

When land transport isn’t a viable option, I’ve learnt that our flying choices can make a difference too.

• Airlines like KLM and ANA currently rank the highest in terms of their sustainability initiatives.
• Flying a newer aircraft like the A350 or Boeing 787-10 is more efficient.
• Flying non-stop to a destination (as opposed to taking a layover) is more eco-friendly.
• Packing lighter can ensure less weight on board, and hence less emissions.

Also read: Is it Possible to Fly Responsibly? What I Learnt on my KLM Flight

Staying at such accommodations can enable genuine socio-cultural exchanges beyond the tourist track .

My fondest travel memories are not from posh hotels but from small homestays, guesthouses and lodges that creatively try to reduce their environmental footprint.

I’m thinking of Grand Oak Manor in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, powered entirely by wind and solar energy. The Secret Garden in Goa , where vegan-friendly breakfasts are made primarily with home-grown ingredients and all waste is composted / recycled. And the community-run sustainable tourism homestays that empower local women in the stunning village of Sarmoli in the Uttarakhand Himalayas .

Over the course of my travels, I’ve realised that staying at such accommodations has enabled me to experience the local culture beyond the tourist track, immerse myself in nature, interact with locals doing meaningful work in the area and gain an understanding of the unique circumstances of the people I’m visiting. And isn’t that what travel is all about?

Also read: Responsible Travel Asia: 10 Incredible Eco Lodges Around the World: Indulge Yourself and Spare the Planet

It’s high time we drop our “demanding” mentality. Just because we’ve paid for a holiday doesn’t mean we can make unfair demands, disrespect local traditions or behave obnoxiously.

To tell you the harsh truth, being an Indian traveller comes with a heavy burden. I’ve witnessed my fellow countrymen make aggressive demands at homestays, play loud music while hiking amid pristine landscapes, and show a lack of respect towards other cultures. A resort in Bali recently busted an Indian family trying to steal pretty much everything from a villa they stayed in, and Bhutan arrested an Indian biker for climbing atop a spiritually revered chortan.

To deal with this burden, we must try to go the extra mile to be more respectful travellers. Learn some words in the local language, respect the rules of another place, offer to help with chores while staying in a homestay, leave an Airbnb rental like we found it and approach people as friends, not as workers offering a service.

If travelling is to open our minds, we need to leave our prejudices, mind-blocks and entitlement at home.

Also read: Stuck in a Vicious Cycle, or Is This How Indians Like to Travel

Tthe quickest way to get familiar with a new country is to figure out its public transport.

It’s tempting to hop into a taxi or Uber, but if time’s on your side, choose to use your feet to explore a place instead.

Responsible tourism tips aside, I’ve stumbled upon some real gems in cities like Tbilisi and Ljubljana while exploring local neighborhoods on foot, and there’s no joy like discovering Copenhagen on two wheels .

And after all these years on the road, I think the quickest way to get familiar with a new country is to figure out its public transport. In Tashkent (Uzbekistan), the underground metro is a work of art, an experience unto itself. In  European cities, local trains and buses are the cheapest and most efficient way to get around.

Walking, cycling or getting around by public transport is not just a more immersive way of exploring a new place, but it is also far more eco-friendly than renting a car or using taxis.

Also read: An Open Letter to Indian Parents: Let Your “Kids” Travel

Rather than skimming the surface of a hundred places for some Instagram-worthy photos, get to know one place deeper.

Back in the day, when flying was seriously expensive, people travelled to faraway destinations with large chunks of time, slowly making their way from one place to another.

These days, flights are cheap and time a rarity, so many of us end up criss-crossing huge countries or entire regions in just a few days. I cringe when people tell me they’ve “done” Latin America or Southeast Asia or India. Sorry to burst that bubble, but I don’t think anyone can “do” those places even in an entire lifetime.

Over time, I’ve learnt to fight my FOMO (fear of missing out) – and accept that there’s only so much I can experience in this life. I’d rather spend a chunk of time in one place (currently, South Africa), trying to really imbibe everything it has to offer.

Going slow also means we have the chance to get off the tourist track, understand the local culture better, connect with inspiring local enterprises, scout eco responsible brands, meaningfully volunteer along the way and pick up a skill or two if so inclined.

Also read: Moonlit Cycling, Poetry and Other Meaningful Things to do in Fort Kochi

The complimentary plastic bottled water offered by hotels, trains, buses and flights is not really free if you account for the environmental cost.

I’ve gone nearly seven years without buying plastic bottled water on my travels – and I can assure you that all it takes is some determination!

I always carry my reusable steel bottle and refill it with filtered drinking water at homestays, Airbnbs, guesthouses, hotels, restaurants, cafes and bars. When I’m unable to access filtered water, I use my LifeStraw filter (and previously used a Steripen ) to filter it myself. I also refuse complimentary plastic bottled water offered by hotels, trains, buses and flights – they’re not really free if you account for the environmental cost.

Upto 91% of plastic bottles around the world do not get recycled – and the ones that do are primarily downcycled. Which means that plastic is going to be on earth for a very long time, and ultimately enter our bodies through groundwater, soil or seafood.

With the availability of safe alternatives in most places, there’s really no excuse to ignore the single-use plastic crisis and continue consuming water from plastic bottles.

Also read: Responsible Travel Cuba: What I Learnt Volunteering on a Remote Island in Cuba

9. Say no to other single-use plastic

The important thing is to refuse, reduce and reuse waste in the first place.

If you’ve been following my Instagram Stories, you know that I’m trying to go entirely zero-waste this November . I’ve already found a community garden in Cape Town to compost my wet waste and a neighborhood recycling unit for dry waste.

• Replace plastic bags, straws, toothbrush and toiletries bottles with a cloth bag, bamboo straw, bamboo toothbrush, steel container and soap, shampoo, conditioner bars.
• Swap menstrual pads for a menstrual cup .
• Carry a steel container for leftovers and takeaways.
• Order homemade, packaging-free energy bars and snacks from homepreneurs or make your own.
• Collect and carry back any non-biodegradable waste from rural areas.

Why do we need to reduce our plastic footprint? Because it’s choking our oceans , killing marine animals, and contaminating our soil and groundwater. It’s literally the least we can do to protect the beauty of the places we travel to experience!

Also read: 5 Simple Steps to Reduce Single Use Plastic – On Our Travels and in Everyday Life

Support local farmers, artisans and entrepreneurs who care about fair wages and have a considerably lower environmental footprint.

My attempt to seek local encounters while also trying to be environmentally conscious has led me to some amazing connections around the world.

I’ve found some incredible local products, thanks to zero waste stores in Yerevan (Armenia), Cape Town (South Africa) and Goa. The local bazaars of Iran and Central Asia are a treasure trove of nuts, dates, saffron and eclectic conversations. Farmers markets in Dehradun, Mumbai, Bhutan and Thailand have led me to some of the world’s best mangoes, chillies, kidney beans and mushrooms!

Food aside, shopping for souvenirs, handicrafts and other local treasures directly from small-scale entrepreneurs is a great way to ensure that the money you spend helps support local farmers and artisans, instead of filling the coffers of exploitative middlemen who often don’t pay fair wages.

Also read: How Farmers in Haryana are Using Technology in the Face of Climate Change

The animals are severely depressed due to being confined in unnatural spaces, kept away from their community and stripped of their freedom .

I remember being taken to zoos and a dolphin-petting attraction in Singapore as a kid – and I sorely wish I had known better.

It breaks my heart that we’re in 2019 and smack in the middle of a conscious tourism era, but attractions like zoos, aquariums, animal riding and animal selfies are still legal. And that people still visit them as a means of entertainment.

The harsh truth is that zoos and aquariums imprison animals that belong in the wild, away from their natural habitat. Animal riding is known to severely damage the spine and spirit of elephants, horses, ostriches, camels, donkeys and other creatures not meant to carry human loads. And animal selfie places (like Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai) drug animals like tigers so tourists can get up-close and take photos.

Some people argue that certain zoos keep animals in larger spaces and are involved in conservation, but who are we kidding? Manmade spaces are no replacement for their natural ecosystem, and the conservation of one species doesn’t justify the imprisonment of hundreds of others.

Instead, we can choose to watch documentaries about animals in the wild, go on a safari in a wildlife reserve or spot birds (free like they are meant to be) on a bird-watching trip. Remember to follow responsible travel tips recommended for the wildlife zones you visit.

Animal attractions and responsible travel report on Nat Geo: Suffering Unseen: The Dark Truth Behind Wildlife Tourism

12. Travel with responsible travel companies or social enterprises that support the community

It can not only deepen our understanding of the world, but also help us make real human connections .

So much of how we experience a place depends on who we experience it with.

While I prefer to travel independently and at my own pace, I often hike, take an experience, support a project or volunteer with a responsible travel agency wherever I am.

• Responsible travel Kerala : I met some rare artisans inspired by the River Nila while travelling with The Blue Yonder .
• Responsible travel Uzbekistan: I ended up staying with an Uzbek family in a remote mountain village – organized by a Nuratau-based company .
• Responsible travel South Africa: I spent time at some uplifting community-based social enterprises in a township near Cape Town , on a trip organised by Uthando .

Exploring a place with someone who knows it inside out and cares enough to give back, can not only deepen our understanding of the world, but also help us make real human connections, irrespective of our differences. It’s the only way to ensure that the money we spend actually benefits the local community – and shouldn’t that be our prime responsibility as travellers?

Also read: Challenging Patriarchy in India: The Role of Gender in Responsible Tourism

The goal is not to score a bunch of “exotic” content for Instagram, but to bring out real, human stories from faraway places .

I learnt early on in my travels that the kind of travel photography we often see on social media (and sometimes in magazines) is ethically debatable.

Having travelled numerous times with photographers, I know that many don’t bother seeking permission from their subjects. Imagine if someone walked up to you, in your place of work or relaxation, clicked a bunch of close-up photos of your face without permission and walked away without saying a word. That happens all the time – and it is the most disrespectful thing we can do as travellers.

On the other hand, photographers whose work I really admire are those who take the time to build a genuine connection with a community before using their camera. Their goal is not to score a bunch of “exotic” content for Instagram, but to bring out real, human stories from faraway places.

Even if we don’t have the time or language to connect with the people we want to photograph, the least we can do is ask for permission. I’m often surprised by how many people say they don’t want to be photographed – and it’s only fair to respect their wishes!

Also read: Why Long Term Travel is More Like Real Life and Less Like Instagram

“So you’ll refuse the plastic straw to save marine life, but kill a fish to eat it anyway?”

The state of the world today makes it easier to refuse a plastic straw than to look long and hard at our dietary choices and the animal abuse involved in the simple piece of chicken or cheese on our plate. But it’s the difficult choices that make us human – and let us experience the world with all our hearts.

Since I turned vegan four years ago and embraced a plant-based lifestyle, I’ve not only been lucky enough to try incredible local food around the world but also built some beautiful friendships through food everywhere from Iran to Japan to Mumbai.

Animal abuse aside, a diet derived from animals (including meat, milk, eggs and seafood) has a higher carbon footprint, consumes far more water and severely damages the ecosystem, as compared to a plant-based diet. In the current climate crisis, one of the biggest things we can do as individuals is say no to animal products.

Also read: How to Travel as a Vegan and Find Delicious Food Anywhere in the World

An Eco-Conscious Wellness Retreat in India for Yoga, Creative Food and Vitamin Sea

What we post need to be driven not by ‘likes’ but by how responsible travel destinations will benefit or suffer from being shared on social media.

The explosion of travel content on Instagram coincides with overtourism around the world – and perhaps that’s no surprise.

It’s easy to scroll through dreamy pictures of Amsterdam, or Pulpit Rock in Norway, or the Maya Bay beach in Thailand, and decide to book our own trip there. But most of the time, these photos come with no context. They don’t talk about the crowds you must jostle in Central Amsterdam, the queue (and selfie deaths) on the iconic rock in Norway or the trash and negative impact on the ecology of ‘The Beach’ – so much that it had to be shut down !

All this puts more responsibility on us as travellers. We need to make better travel choices while we’re at the destination, but we also need to be aware of how we share our experiences on social media .

Should we geotag a fragile natural spot that hasn’t been discovered by the crowds? Should we shy away from sharing the truth of overtourism in our photos? Should we ignore the very definition of responsible travel and focus on click-bait content?

We only have one world to explore and f*ck up. If all this sounds like too much work, then perhaps it’s better to stay at home!

What responsible travel tips do you (aspire to) follow on your travels?

Join my responsible travel adventures and learnings on Instagram ,  Facebook  and  Twitter .

Order a copy of my bestselling book,  The Shooting Star .

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Welcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.

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36 comments.

I love this post! I have to say that the only way to see an animal in captivity is when it’s a sanctuary for rehabilitation-we went to one in S.Africa that kept wild cats (civets etc) until they were healthy and released them back into the wild.

Those dollars go to feeding them and educating the public on the habitats and habits of the cats.

But I agree. We wouldn’t need those places if we didn’t destroy the habit they need to survive.

I do agree with you but unfortunately there’s a fair bit of greenwashing by so called sanctuaries too, although there are some real ones doing great work!

Hi, don’t stop in Cape Town. East London on our east coast is equally beautiful. We have a Baz Bus all the way from Cape Town to Durban & Joburg. Hop on in CT and hop off at East London. I’ll cook good food for you from my own organic garden.

Sounds lovely! The Baz Bus looks pretty expensive though; I’m considering taking the train to Joburg at some point; would you recommend that?

Food from your organic garden sounds delicious! Would love to catch up if I make it to East London 🙂 x

Lovely post shivya really inspiring me a lot and very interesting travel blog thanks

Thanks Adnan; hope it inspires better travel choices 🙂

Great and most important post, dear Shivya, I wish every traveler would be aware of this.

While writing this post, I was wishing we lived in a world where I didn’t have to write this 😉

I believe you.

Lot to learn from this post.. thanks Shivya😊

Thanks for reading Prachi; hope it’ll inspire more informed travel choices 🙂

Great tips, thanks for sharing! My fav is the eco friendly and off season.

Off season really does change how you experience a place, right?

Absolutely, way less people and wait times!

Animal sanctuaries are completely different to zoos (the ones in Namibia that is). We have Harnas Widlife Foundation that rehabilitate cheetah’s et al that had a bit of a disagreement with livestock farmers, we have Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary that looks after roadkill that survived etc.

Second, and this is my opinion, social media platforms such as Instagram has aggravated the environmental degration of popular hotspots globally as those that crave attention and are socalled influencers flock to this highlights thereby increasing the human footprint.

In terms of air travel, to decrease our footprint we should simply stay home right? But that will deprive other indigent communities that survive on the occasional tourist dollar. Newer aircraft are efficient in terms of emissions etc and many long distance non-stop flights are now being pioneered by the leading airlines across the globe. Perhaps we should device a way of calculating our carbon footprint before undertaking any trip, in so doing we can (without throttling our conscience) decide to reduce the impact by not traveling at all, or using other avenues to lessen the impact.

Hence why I support your recommendation to go to the offbeat off the track tourist destinations or traveling out of season (off peak).

Nevertheless, brilliant write up as usual.

Thanks Dannii for your valuable thoughts! I do believe in supporting sanctuaries too, but also warn people of being aware of greenwashing (some actually cause more harm than good to get in travellers).

And absolutely agree with you on air travel. I hope the technology will evolve soon for aircrafts to have much lower emissions (like sustainable aviation fuel), but until then, instead of sitting at home, we can find better ways to travel. Closer to home, over land, choosing local etc.

Hope to make it to Namibia sometime!

Thank you writing this blog post! This is really one of the most complete guides to responsible travel I have seen, especially since you are not only considering the environmental impacts of travel which is often the case which such blogs. I think the points about taking photos and what to post on Instagram are very valuable as social media has such a big impact these days. I also read two interesting posts about what to consider when writing about other cultures and countries, you might find it interesting as well.

https://baniamor.com/2016/03/28/how-not-to-do-travel-writing-a-glossary-pt-1-dispatch-india-harris/

https://www.globonaut.eu/things-to-avoid-when-writing-a-travel-essay/

Thanks Shirley, glad you thought so! It’s hard to summarise everything I’ve learnt and crystallised over the years but this is a start. Will be writing more in-depth posts soon.

Thanks for sharing these posts; I’ll read them today!

Great post about responsible travel Shivya. So many people are obsessed with Instagram worthy destinations and don’t care about the history, the culture. Wish all travellers and tourists were aware of their human footprints. Hope this post will get viral ❤

Aww <3 I think responsible travel is far from going viral, but I do hope reading about the small choices we can make will make a different somewhere.

I can share the same sentiment about slow travel and being sustainable in regards to transportation options, etc. I travel at least 9 months of the year and I find it exhausting if I am always go go go. I used to do that back in the day when I was “vacationing”. But these days, travelling to me means taking my time, enjoying local culture and being full immersed in the city or wherever I am. And I would eat at local restaurants instead of getting take out because I want to enjoy a meal in a local environment and also not waste extra packaging for take out. Thank you for sharing all your tips! I really enjoyed your post!

I feel exactly the same way Queenie – taking my time instead of rushing through places! I sometimes just want to eat at home (and not cook) while watching netflix, so the reusable takeaway containers are super helpful 😉

This post inspires me a lot..

Glad to hear that Ankit 🙂

Hello, The list is exhaustive I must say. If a traveler starts with politeness and respect for other’s culture and way of life I am sure most of other points could be easily followed. Great post as always. Thanks.

Thanks Bikram; that is a good starting point indeed!

Totally agree with all your point Shivya! So much to inspired by you. Good-luck for all the upcoming years! 🙂

These tips are really helpful to travel anywhere in the world. keep posting like this. thanks

I think we just need to be respectful of everyone and the environment when we travel. When we stay in Airbnb’s we treat the home like it is ours, keep quiet and clean up when we leave. Parents need to teach children to be respectful of local art, churches, sculptures and fountains. Great tips, especially the info on animal abuse.

These tips are really helpful for traveling anywhere in the world. Keep posting like this. Thank you for this article

I really enjoyed reading this thoughtful article Shivya. I generally slow travel but I particularly want to think more about land based travel from next year. One thing I’ve noticed is an increasing amount of volunteer beach clean ups on some of the islands in SE Asia I’ve visited this year. This makes me happy! Sam 🙂

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An amazing piece of content. Just inspires me to write my next blog.

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