So, how we choose to travel has a ripple effect that impacts the on-the-ground community, economy, and environment. This is why Eco-Friendly Tourism and ethical travel are enjoying a well-deserved front stage. We speak with biologist Katherine Sydney, who is by day a full-time biologist and in her free time explores the world. At 19, she left on her first trip to Mexico and was hooked. She travels with a great desire for wildlife and other cultures, but not to exploit them.
From being a biologist in my day job to travelling, I just love knowing and experiencing all of it. I love travelling especially Eco-Friendly Tourism because it takes me out of my comfort zone, it breaks routine and I find I am more inspired.
One simple thing you can do that could make a big difference in the economy is to spend your money locally. Consider small, family-run bed and breakfasts or homestays. The rate is usually lower, plus you’ll get a fabulous homemade breakfast in the morning too! Dine at restaurants in the neighborhood, which are also often cheaper and serve more genuine, tasty food.
Eco-Friendly Tourism
Just remember, haggling may not necessarily be the right thing to do while you’re shopping at local markets. You want a fair price, but at the end of the day, if it’s a few cents shy you can eat it, but pennies in volume make all the difference in the world to them.
It’s a small step to even carry and reuse your own bottle of water, but it can contribute significantly to reducing plastic waste in our environment. This is particularly so in countries where tap water isn’t drinkable and/or a recycling scheme doesn’t exist.
Many homestays and hotels can refill them for you. My all-time favorite place we’ve ever stayed was directly on the beach in Pemuteran, Bali. The tiny resort and dive shop hires the local sea gyspies to do their bit of conservation in trying to recover some of the overfished reefs. They called themselves the ‘Reef Gardeners’, and they are now restoring the Coral Gardens around them. That, in turn, prevents the fisherman from simply continuing to overfish them. They even had a turtle sanctuary right there on the property.
Eco-Friendly Tourism is all about being a responsible traveler and preserving natural habitats. So, when it comes to all activities that involve wildlife, do your research. If they are in captivity, only go to places where there aren’t cages or chains, and contact with humans is not forced (if it even happens). When I was looking into elephant trekking in Thailand, I could find out just how bad things are for the elephants when it comes to Eco-Friendly Tourism.
I didn’t see how I could be for that by saying yes.” I eventually found Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary near Sukhothai, and I am so grateful to have been able to spend that time there — walking oh-so-slowly, gently nudging past the elephants with their squeaks and trumpets while they contentedly munched on trees.
Just spending your money at locally-owned businesses, bringing a reusable water bottle, and doing a bit more research on animal-related Eco-Friendly Tourism is a great thing for the area. And the best part, you can have even more fun doing it! YOU will be making a difference, and your trip will have that much more meaning to it.
