Eco Travel Tips

What does eco travel means? Eco travel is about visiting natural areas with the objectives of learning or participating in activities that do not bring negative effects to the environment. It is about being sensitive to the local community, respecting their practises and way of life, supporting and empowering local community socially and economically

An eco traveller is a person who doesn’t want to travel just for relaxation; an eco traveller is concerned about the environment and wants to do more than just sightseeing when on holiday. An eco traveller is interested in the place on a grass root level and wants to contribute positively to the community and the ecological environment.

Eco travelling is responsible travelling and it begins from the moment you plan your holiday. Consider the following factors before you make your travel plans.

1. Being an eco traveler means to be conscious of your traveling habits such as reducing your carbon footprint. Be conscious about global warming and carbon emission. Try to reduce flying time as much as possible, take train or other form of public transport for interstate travel. Plan your route in advance to reduce unnecessary travelling. Practice recycling and reusing of things while travelling.

2. Eco tourism comes in many form, it could be volunteering in an animal sanctuary, living with the local community, participating in activities that does not spoil the natural ecology such as bird watching and hiking.

3. When looking for an eco destination, research on travel operators that promote eco travel and destinations. Read about their environmental and staffing policies, whether they hire local people and are they involved in any local community projects.

4. When booking your hotels, check with the operators on how the hotel handles their environmental responsibility. Environment policy such as energy consumption, conservation of water and recycling policy. Find out if they support and used only local produce, employ locals in their establishment and what do they do about conservation around them.

5. Be mindful of companies who market themselves behind the ‘Eco’ label but aren’t actually promoting responsible eco travelling. Check for green certification and awards.

6. Eco travel promotes positive interaction and makes us more accepting and respectful of other people’s cultural heritage, religion social behavior and properties. Dress appropriately especially in religious ground and be sensitive to the custom of the local people. Learn some basic local language such as greetings, respect their privacy, ask permission when taking photographs or entering their home and do not cause damage to their properties.

7. Support and help the local community by buying local products; do not buy products that exploit the young and the vulnerable. Visit the place where they make the products to show your appreciation for the skills and effort.

8. Visit local conservation projects like forest conservation, animal sanctuary and learn what the people do to preserve their environment.

9. Eco travel is also about visiting local conservation projects like forest conservation, animal sanctuary and learning about what people do to preserve their environment. There are eco holidays where you can stay and participate in the conservation projects like forestry, wild life conservation and protection.

10. Conservation is also about keeping the environment clean, not wasting water especially in places where water is scarce and not wasting food.

Eco travelling is responsible travelling. When you practice responsible travelling, you encourage the good practice of tolerance and respect. When you take an interest in conservation projects and wildlife, you help sustain the livelihood of the local people and indirectly help build their community.