Starting to plan that next trip? You’ll love the practical tips from global travel experts Natasha Martin, founder of Good Tourism, and Court Whelan, Director of Sustainability and Conservation Travel at Natural Habitat Adventures. To catch all Court’s jokes be sure to watch the video here, recorded during our Tomorrow’s Air, Convene virtual event held in March 2021.
Get to know some certifications and know your influence as a traveler. When deciding where to visit, learn to recognize the certifications for sustainable destinations: Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC) certification is one to notice. This logo on a destination website indicates this place is working on sustainability in a serious way. Understand also that certification can be expensive and many destinations can’t afford it, so make it a point to focus on traveling sustainably at the destination as this is where you can make a big difference.
Travel longer and slower. The longer you can stay in a destination and the more time you can take getting around once you’re there, the better for our planet. It also turns out that much of what makes a trip sustainable and easy on the environment, is also what makes a trip more interesting, and more fun. Have a look at the Adventure Travel Trade Association’s recent report, Work and Wander: Meet Today’s Digital Nomads for hints on which destinations are the easiest for those staying longer.
Sustainable booking tools can make planning easier. The more travelers demand sustainability, the more services we find enabling it. The best thing to do when reserving a hotel is to ask the hotel about their sustainable policies. Sustainable businesses will be happy you asked and eager to share their efforts around water use, energy sources and use, waste management, and local hiring. These websites (as well as Adventure.travel!) make it easy to find and book sustainable travel providers:
- N: Fly newer aircraft, such as the Boeing 787
- E: Fly economy
- R: Choose regular size aircraft, small craft are more fuel intensive
- D: Fly direct to avoid unnecessary fuel burn between take-off and landing
Partner and shop with travel businesses that share your climate values. The businesses in this list participated in Tomorrow's Air Convene, and have taken at least one of the following actions:
- Joining Tomorrow's Air as a Subscriber to Remove and Permanently Store CO2
- Joining Neutral Together, Offsetting CO2 Emissions With Nature-Based Solutions
- Signing the Adventure Travel Trade Association Commitment to Climate Action Pledge
- Joining Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency