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How to Travel Sustainably the Easy Way

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By Kind Traveler  •  Posted on Mar 10, 2022

Has booking a vacation ever felt difficult?
Have you ever felt like it’s impossible to go on a vacation in a way that doesn’t make you feel guilty? 
How can you know that the places you’re staying at give back to the community and care about the environment as much as YOU do? 

Travel connects people with new places, cultures, and experiences. But it comes with a huge responsibility. Traveling creates a major impact on the places you visit – and the Earth as a whole.

But the impact of travel doesn’t have to be detrimental to local cultures and the planet. You can travel in a way that supports local communities, decreases your carbon footprint, and protects the natural habitat and wildlife of the country you visit. 

And it can be easy.

This is our guide on how to make your travel as low-impact as possible, and how we can help your next vacay be as kind as possible.

Kudadoo Maldives Private Island

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL?

Green is the new black – sustainable travel is in right now and it’s here to stay.

You’ve probably heard a bunch of different terms like “green travel," “eco-friendly travel," and “eco-tourism.” The core belief behind these terms is to travel in a way that doesn’t negatively affect the environment or local communities within the countries you visit -- while maximizing your positive impact. 

Your impact is at the forefront of your mind when you travel. So you strive to have a positive long-term impact. There are three basic principles of sustainable tourism:

  • Environmentally friendly practices
  • Protecting cultural and natural heritage
  • Providing social and economic benefits for local communities

So, when planning your next vacation, try to hit these three goals. Choose how you travel, where you stay, and what you do intentionally. Pick experiences that uphold the jobs of the locals, maintain protection for the environment, and don’t disturb natural wildlife.

Choosing to intentionally travel will make your trip so much more enjoyable. There’s nothing better than the feeling of knowing you made a difference. And you can rest easy on your vacation knowing that you booked experiences that are in-line with your values. 

So, say goodbye to feeling guilty on vacation. 

EXAMPLES OF RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

There are many ways to travel kindly. Some major ones include: supporting local communities, choosing travel companies that work with these local communities, eliminating, reducing or offsetting your carbon footprint, and vetting any wildlife tour companies to make sure they have the best practices in place.

Let’s look at these sustainable tourism tips more closely. 

Supporting Local Communities

You may not realize how your travel affects the local community and economy. Many travel businesses will take tourists away from the local organizations who know the area better, and who deserve to be supported. 

Make sure that you’re buying locally as often as you can – whether that’s for souvenirs or local food. Try to stay away from “home comforts” and “tourist traps.” After all, you’re not in Paris to have Starbucks, right? So as much as you can, head off the beaten path to find smaller, locally run restaurants and businesses. Doing so boosts the local economy and gives you a more authentic experience of the city you’re in. 
Also if you’re taking a tour or booking with a tour company, make sure they also employ local guides from the area. 

Thoroughly Researching Wildlife Tours

This is something to be taken very seriously. There’s a major problem with wildlife trafficking and hunting that’s putting many species at risk for extinction or becoming endangered. The illegal wildlife trade is the fourth largest illegal trade behind drugs, people smuggling and counterfeiting, worth an estimated £15 billion annually (WWF). Hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens are traded internationally each year.
If you’re going on a trip that includes a wildlife tour of any kind, make sure you look into the company thoroughly to make sure they have the proper practices in place. Make sure they’re respecting the wildlife and their habitat, as well as leaving them where they should be: in the wild.

Reducing and Offsetting Your Carbon Footprint

Let’s face it. People travel a lot. And traveling a lot comes with the price of using a lot of fuel. 

Finding a better way to travel to reduce (or eliminate) your carbon footprint and then off-setting it, is a BIG step we can take to protect the planet. 
Take public transportation when you’re able to, instead of private cars. If you can, travel by train instead of plane – it has a much lower impact. You can then offset your footprint entirely by giving money to an organization that will plant trees equal to the amount of carbon you produced. This helps reforest the planet and protect the environment – what a win-win!

WE PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH

When you book with Kind Traveler, responsible travel is easy. And we help you give back to local communities through our charity program. 

With us, you can book your hotel and unlock lower prices when you donate a minimim of $10 per stay to a charity. Kind Traveler partners with more than 100 charities, so you have a range of options to choose from. A few highlights are: 

  • Wildlife
  • Education
  • Disaster Relief
  • Health Services
  • Animal Welfare
  • Environment

And there are plenty more to choose from.

Related: 2022 Impact Tourism Report by Kind Traveler

Imagine: booking an incredible trip to the Maldives and staying at Kudadoo Maldives Private Island. The gentle ocean breeze wakes you up each morning, and you don’t even have to travel to the beach. You’re already there. Your schedule is your own: paddleboarding, snorkeling, or even lounging in the sun. Perhaps you’ll have a romantic candlelight dinner on the beach...

Here, you’re not just staying on a jaw-dropping, beautiful private island, but you’re staying at an establishment that takes environmental sustainability seriously and incorporates sustainable practices into their daily operations.


With Kind Traveler, you can choose to support Manta Trust along with your trip. This will help advance the mission of Manta Trust to preserve protections for threatened manta rays as well as help accomplish their work in identifying different species.

Or maybe you decide on something different: a place that has exquisite farm-to-bar cocktails and a sister-location spa right down the street before you soak in a solar-heated swimming pool for a few hours. 

You’ll find these experiences when you book a trip to Healdsburg, California, and you stay at the h2hotel. With Kind Traveler, the local charity you can support is Russian Riverkeeper. Russian Riverkeeper is an organization that protects the Russian River and educates the public about preservation efforts. Their focus is to restore the health of the river and in turn, the habitat for its wildlife that’s been negatively affected by mining and urban development. 

Both of these hotels have some form of solar power on-site, recycling and composting programs, eco-friendly cleaning products, and initiatives to support and care for local farm animals.

 

Russian Riverkeeper

READY TO BECOME A KIND TRAVELER?

Booking a beautiful, incredible, responsible vacation is now just a few moments away. 

We’ve carefully curated our hotels and charities to make sure their values align with ours and yours. 

You want a vacation you can be proud of. One where your needs are met, but not at the expense of the world around you. Let us be your first step on that journey. Let’s make your next trip happen. 

Sources: 
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/lists/sustainable-travel-tips/#close
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49349566
 

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