Written by Daryll Williams

Here at Viatu, we envision sustainable travel as being a movement of respectful and responsible travellers who all yearn for meaningful travel experiences and care deeply for our planet and its people. This is a journey of awareness and decision-making that aims to respect and protect the local environment, culture and economy. These 10 tips to be a more sustainable traveller are ones you can use every day, whether on your next trip or at home.

1. Leave no trace

Make sure to leave as little footprint as possible in any place you visit – be it a city, a forest or a beach. If you like hiking, make sure to stay on the trail as the rest of the area may be in recuperation, and if you get off you step on the local flora and endanger it. Similarly, only set up camp on a durable surface. Collect all your waste until you can appropriately dispose of it. If the area you are in permits open fires, be sure to minimise your fire site and cover it with sand when you’re done. And if you need to use the bush for personal reasons, make sure not to abandon any toilet paper: Put it in a bag and dispose of it once back.

2. Create your own flight offsetting scheme

Carbon offsetting websites can sometimes be unreliable. Instead, our suggestion is if your flight is coming up, choose that month as your “buying local only month”. A lot of us forget that many of our vegetables and fruits are flown to us, so if you buy locally farmed products, you’ve basically got your own offsetting scheme to make up for the carbon emissions. Every little bit helps.

3. Minimise your waste

Waste management can be a major issue in most developing countries, and we as travellers often unknowingly contribute to this problem. The education levels when it comes to recycling and minimising waste in other countries may not be the same as what we receive back home, so it is important to take your own steps to help out the environment.

Say no to plastic packaging from shops and instead look for alternatives. Eat and drink in the cafe rather than going for takeaway (or carry a reusable cup with you). Also aim to carry a reusable water bottle with you and fill it up from large water jugs that can be found in most hotels and restaurants.

4. Eat and shop locally

When it comes to eating, sleeping and buying souvenirs, choosing where you spend your money can have a massive impact on the community.

By having dinner at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, staying in a family-run guesthouse or purchasing a trinket from a street vendor, you are helping to inject money directly into the local economy. Besides creating a more authentic travel experience for yourself, you are also helping someone create a better life for themselves.

5. Think before you act with wildlife activities

When making plans for an overseas vacation, a lot of people have exotic dreams of riding elephants, swimming with dolphins or having their photos taken with lions, but these irresponsible activities often do more harm than good.

Wildlife tourism is big business, and most of these operators think about the profits before the well-being of the animals. Remember that for one hour of entertainment for yourself, you could be contributing to a lifetime of distress for the animal.

6. When it comes to trash, set a good example

Don’t just throw away your own trash, but on occasion, consider picking up errant pieces of trash in otherwise clean areas, especially if someone is around to view your good deed. You may think, “Well, this isn’t my responsibility and this isn't my country,” but we’ve noticed that local people take note of what tourists do. Your deed may actually begin a conversation about trash and the environment!

7. Don’t waste water and other precious resources

Water is a scarcity in some parts of the world, and if you want to be a more responsible traveller (and in fact, a more responsible human altogether), you might need to change your water habits. Take shorter showers, for example. Only do laundry when you have a full load. Ask for your towels not to be changed. And make sure to turn the lights and air-conditioning or heating off when you leave your room.

8. Unplug when you can

Even if electronic devices are shut off or in sleep mode, they are still using energy. Being away for too long wastes a lot of energy that could otherwise have been plugged off. So, before separating from a device, make sure to unplug it from the wall socket and waste less electricity in the process.

9. Don’t spend all your money in one place

The distribution of your travel funds is an easy and – often overlooked – effective way to uplift. Consider visiting a variety of restaurants and shops in order to spread the economic benefit of your visit around the community. An added bonus of this approach is that it affords you variety, such as the opportunity to try different foods and to engage with different people.

10. Choose sustainable accommodation

There are thousands of options available to you when it comes to finding a place to rest your head, or choosing an operator to take you out on that unforgettable holiday experience.

It is possible to find businesses that actively work with local communities or have practices that help protect the environment, and these kinds of establishments should be rewarded for their efforts. They may choose to only employ local guides or workers from nearby villages, or provide extra training to help their staff improve their skills.

Some places even donate part of their profits to charitable enterprises, or pay their local staff above-average wages, without you having to do any extra work! It may take a little bit more research to find these sustainable companies, but the benefits are worth the effort.

Viatu has done all this research for you!

Spread the sustainable word and pass it forward

By no means is this an exhaustive list, but rather the beginning of a conversation. Want more travel tips? What actions would you add to be a smarter global traveller? Tell us via Instagram or LinkedIn!