What is Sustainable Tourism?
A trip to El Salvador that changed my life
Is there even such a thing as sustainable travel?
If you, like me, feel a pit in your stomach for even thinking about jumping on a flight, you have all the right to ask yourself this question. However, in my worries about our burning rainforests and other environmental destruction around the world, I kept coming across the concept of sustainable travel.
A seemingly strange climate action, sustainable travel is told to serve as an important tool to build climate resilience in vulnerable places.
“Investing in eco-tourism and nature conservation could play a pivotal role helping green recovery programs”, says the World Bank.
When I finally made the decision to visit the sustainable hotel Palo Verde in El Salvador, I was shown firsthand what eco-tourism means. Being there, I could see the positive impact tourism — if done the right way — can have on both the environment and people.
This is a story of climate resilience and community empowerment, shared by the owner of a small family business on El Salvador’s coast. Meet Camilo Menéndez!
What, then, is sustainable tourism?
Sure, there are ways to make your trip “less bad”, like buying carbon offsets, calculating the most efficient route, and saying no to single-use plastics. But could your travel actually do good?
Yes, I’ve seen now that it can. I’ve come to understand that truly sustainable tourism is visiting places where your money can make an actual impact, supporting tourism that gives to the local communities and grows alongside its people. It means sustainability for everyone involved -- people, planet, and economy!
If you feel guilt over adding air miles, I totally understand. But if you, like me, wish to keep visiting beautiful places on our magical planet, here’s a checklist to think about for booking your next trip!
Sustainable Tourism:
Empowers local communities and economies
Respects local culture and natural ecosystems
Supports sustainable practices, like the elimination of disposables, climate education, and smart infrastructure
Is mindful and booked with intention
Can have the power to change a region and its resilience to climate change
New on Hey Change Podcast
How do we restore our spiritual relationship with nature and find ourselves as embedded participants within the web of life? More importantly -- what does that look like in practice?
In this fascinating conversation with Aaron, we talk Ecopsychology, how a culture of emergence within companies can help shift society in a positive direction, as well as how a community-driven approach might lead us into a climate optimistic world.
Aaron Gabriel Neyer is a Developer Relations Engineer at Google with a big passion for both living and technological systems. He's currently furthering his education with a Master's in Eco-Psychology at Naropa University.
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