Discover 10 practical ways to make your travels more sustainable and eco-friendly. Learn how to minimize your environmental impact, support local communities, and enjoy meaningful experiences while exploring the world responsibly.
What is Sustainable Travel?
Sustainable tourism, regenerative travel, responsible travel, low impact travel, meaningful travel, conscious travel – no matter which term you use, it is about creating a positive impact on our travels.
While people often think of sustainable travel as minimizing our environmental footprint, it is much broader and all-encompassing than this. Sustainable travel is all about achieving a balance between economic growth, human well-being, and environmental health. And it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily more expensive to travel sustainably, more so conscious of our impact and how we travel.
Sustainable travel is traveling in a responsible way by reducing our negative impacts and maximizing its positive benefits for communities, cultures, ecosystems, and the planet.
Sustainable travel accounts for both the immediate impacts felt today as well as those longer-term impacts that will be experienced by future generations.
While I don’t have all the answers nor do I have all of the solutions to be 100% sustainable all the time, simply acknowledging that our impact on travel, however well-intentioned, can leave a footprint. We can each start by shifting our mindset when traveling, especially my fellow digital nomads that t are in it for the long haul (pun intended). Whether it’s small choices, like not purchasing single-use plastic, or bigger contributions, like offsetting flights, every step taken by an individual traveler to enjoy a more sustainable journey can create a positive impact and reduce our footprint. Scroll below for 10 tips for sustainable travel and why it’s important.
When travelers know their trip has helped improve someone’s life, it creates a lifelong memory and a deeper connection to their experience.
Avoid Destinations Experiencing Overtourism
Overtourism is on the rise. The often over-glamorized or iconic movie film locations and superficial influencers attract crowds in droves. While some cities and locations are implementing policies to combat this issue, it still puts strain on locations from increased traffic, waste management, water, deterioration of historical sites, and increasing prices that are driving locals out. Check out the list of sustainable travel destinations and if your schedule is flexible, travel in the off-season.
Choose Ethical Tour Operators
Tour operator’s environmental and social impact sits in the supply chain — the businesses, people, and services you choose to work with in a destination; for example, a local hiking company or a lodge. So understanding and influencing it can be a complex task.
I try to opt for local, independent tours that prioritize sustainable and authentic experiences that respect the culture and community, land, and fair compensation for local guides.
Travel has incredible potential for good. It can boost local economies, provide much-needed funds for conservation, and offer employment opportunities. But not all companies operate in a way that benefits the regions they work in, and over recent years this is an issue that’s been thrown into the spotlight. With post-pandemic travel, 2024 is estimated to biggest year in travel:
1.53 (billion) expected 10.6% increase in GDP. So be discerning in your research and potential greenwashing.
75% seek authentic experiences that are representative of the local culture, and 69% want the money they spend when traveling to go back to the local community. – Booking.com survey 2023
Select Accommodation with Sustainable Practices
Whether a traveler or a full-time nomad, choosing ethical accommodation is crucial. Many cities and countries are cracking down on short-term rentals, like Airbnb, as this takes away housing for locals or increases living costs. I also encourage you to be discerning when selecting accommodation that says they are sustainable, as unfortunately, there is greenwashing. Look for certifications, water and energy efficient practices, and zero waste practices (limiting paper waste cups or cutlery). As a nomad, I house-sit full time. This is more of an immersive, sustainable way as I’m caring for a home that would otherwise be empty by the homeowner and not taking accommodation from locals. Here are a few other responsible options for budget-friendly accommodation.
- Housesitting – Here’s a discount for Trusted Housesitters
- Workaway / Worldpackers
- Host a sister
- Eco-hotels or eco-hostels
- House swap
- Couchsurfing
- Booking.com has Green Certifications for sustainable hotels
- Fair BnB donates a percentage of profits to community projects
Conserve Water & Energy
Before heading to your next destination, learn about water scarcity and energy conservation through local publications, social media groups, and community forums. I also subscribe to embassy notifications regarding climate, social or political unrest, and travel advisories to stay up to date on current events. Some areas where water scarcity is in effect may shut off the water supply or limit the supply for residents. Some hotels have access to more water or generators for power outages, but consider how you might be using resources. Here are a few ways to conserve water and energy:
- Shorter or less frequent showers
- Avoid running the water for brushing your teeth or doing dishes
- Flushing the toilet (if it’s yellow, let it mellow…if you know, you know)
- Less frequent laundry days (handwash or select eco-feature on the washer)
- If you boil water for cooking, you could save the leftover water for dishes or watering plants!
Energy
- Unplug electronics when not in use
- Don’t let the AC run when you are away, the same goes for lights
- Energy-efficient accommodations the use of energy-efficient appliances and sources
Respect the Environment
Before taking the plunge to swim in the sea or hiking a national forest, remember to leave no trace.
Over time, beautiful natural areas are seeing the effects of mass tourism, so be respectful of ancient temples and recognize that trails and fences are there for a reason.
In short: read the signs.
- Use reef-safe sunscreen to protect marine life
- Honor the land you’re on — if you’re visiting a national park or going on a safari, be aware of “fortress conservation” and look for more ethical tour groups that work with Indigenous communities.
- Reduce plastic: reusable water bottles, cutlery, shopping bags, and reusable produce bags, and for my outdoorsy gals, instead of toilet paper, I love the KulaCloth for outdoor adventures. Before you’re like “ew” it’s a microbial pee cloth.
Regenerative Travel: Giving Back to the Community
Volunteer opportunities, like clean-ups, sustainable farming, or other conservation practices can be found in community forums, and Facebook groups, or even chatting with locals can make a huge difference. Volunteering isn’t about tooting your own horn to say, “Look what I did” It’s about genuinely giving back to the community you’re in (however long that maybe). However well-intentioned, avoid projects that involve children (like orphanages) short term as that can lead to attachment and abandonment issues, and be culturally aware of “White Saviorsim” projects, which may cause more harm than good. Learn more at Give Back.
Support Local Businesses
Souvenirs, groceries, restaurants, food trucks — ensuring your dollars go back into the hands of the community and support the local people. Digital nomads can also make a much more positive impact, since they stay in locations longer, for a lasting impact. Global Nomad Pass partners with local businesses to create awareness around small businesses, incentives, and sharing personalized stories of the business owners that you’re supporting.
Avoid Animal Entertainment and Exploitation
I understand that kids may love zoos or the sunset horseback riding tour on the beach seems like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, at what detrimental cost to the animals for our own entertainment and pleasure? Sadly, 75% of all wildlife tourism harms animals. Not to mention the stress and in some places, heat exhaustion these animals may experience, like taking the Mule ride up Santorini, Greece.
At the very minimum, when it comes to animal welfare and reducing carbon footprints, opting for eating less meat. I’m not here to push vegetarian or veganism on you — I love cured meats as much as the next person — but even reducing our meat intake goes a long way. Meat has proven to be one of the biggest causes of climate change, causing high levels of methane production from cows and pollution of waterways from animal waste.
Offset CO2 Emissions with Eco-Friendly Transport
While I understand you can’t always opt out of taking flights when traveling, however, we can reduce our CO2 emissions by choosing direct flights when possible as they can have 25% lower emissions because they avoid the high emissions of additional takeoffs and landings. Other modes of transport include electric buses or trains. Walking, biking with many cities offering bike hire programs, and even carshare options in select countries (like BlaBla Car), rather than hiring a car, which can congest traffic and add to CO2 emissions.
- Hire a bike or scooter
- FlixBus travels around Europe
- Check to see if trains are available in your location
Keep it Tight and Pack Light: Minimalist Travel
More often than not, you don’t wear everything you packed on your travels.
25 pairs of under? What if I shit my pants multiple times?
6 pairs of shoes? For day trips, hikes, cute shoes, going out?
No, you don’t NEED all of that. Let’s not succumb to the capitalistic conditioning and venture into minimalist and sustainable travel.
54321 rule: 5 mix-and-match outfits, 4 tops, 3 slacks, 2 pairs of shoes, 1 dress/romper (if female). Add that up which equals 15 and is the total number of underwear, socks, and bras (if female) plus a swimming suit.
Packing lightly and thoughtfully is a small, yet effective way, of helping with sustainable travel. The more we pack, the more fuel planes, trains, and automobiles will need. It’s also easier to carry lighter luggage — don’t put yourself through having to schlep a big suitcase through the narrow streets of Europe, up flights of stairs, or dirt roads in rural locations. For example:
- Pack a refillable water bottle, or a water purifier, to save you from buying single-use plastic.
- Hand wash clothes and use travel-size eco-friendly laundry sheets
- Packing cubes help compress and organize clothes
- Try to pack eco-friendly products, or go completely plastic-free, by using shampoo bars, tooth tabs, deodorant bars, and your own cutlery, therefore using less space, better for the environment, and are allowed in your hand luggage.
Slow Travel Method or Slow-mad Travel
Slow travel is more sustainable because it reduces your carbon footprint by cutting back on unnecessary air travel. Slower forms of travel, like walking or cycling, use fewer resources. It also allows you to be more immersed in the local culture by practicing the language, learning about the history, meeting locals, and trying local foods, rather than running around trying to see everything or many countries in a short time frame, thus burning yourself out.
Sustainable Travel is the Future
In conclusion, sustainable travel is not just a trend. In an uncertain future, we need to be more mindful of our scope of influence and how we show up and respect the environment and its diverse cultures. By implementing these ten strategies, from choosing eco-friendly accommodations to embracing slow travel, we can significantly reduce our environmental impact while enriching our travel experiences.
Remember, every small action counts – whether it’s supporting local businesses, conserving resources, or respecting wildlife and cultural heritage, it impacts the places we travel to and the local populations. As responsible travelers, we have the power to create positive change, ensuring that the beauty and wonder of our world remain intact for future generations to explore and enjoy. Let’s commit to traveling more consciously, making each journey an opportunity to contribute positively to the places we visit and the global community we’re all a part of.
Let’s Connect
- Are you looking to elevate your travel or tourism brand? Or looking to get personalized travel planning assistance? I’d love to help you on your journey and create greater awareness of responsible travel
- 📧 Email: Let’s chat about your travel goals – drop me a line
- 📱 Social Media: Follow along on Instagram @wanderwitheri for daily travel inspiration and tips
- 🗣️ Travel Planning: Need help planning your next adventure? Book a 1:1 consultation where we can discuss sustainable travel options, housesitting opportunities, and creating an itinerary that matches your interests and budget