Sustainable travel is now promoted and encouraged to travelers around the world to help protect our environment from further damage. The main concern many people have with this trend of eco-friendly accommodation and overall travel experience is the price that the tour operators offer. Most of the times, you need to spend so much money on the concept of sustainable travel offered by tour operator.
How can you travel sustainably without excessive spending?
The myths about sustainable travel being so expensive has been around since the initial stage of sustainable travel being introduced to travel community. It is not entirely wrong because there are plenty of luxe eco tourism lodges that have been built promising environmentally-friendly accommodations with low impact tours. However, there are also ways you can travel sustainable without staying in expensive eco-friendly lodges.
Understand the point of sustainable travel
The point of sustainable travel is to establish a balance between the environmental, social, and economic aspects of tourism. With this point in mind, what you need to focus on is how to highlight local experiences, support goals that protect the environment, minimize waste, expand economic development in local communities that are most affected by tourism, as well as help preserve resources.
Stay at locally-owned accommodations
Sustainable travel doesn’t have to cost a lot since you just have to meet the true point of sustainable travel as mentioned. For example, you can opt for locally-owned accommodations such as homestay. High-end resorts may offer you luxe amenities and facilities but they are often expensive. By staying in one of the local homestay, you directly contribute to the local economic growth. Just make sure that you also pay attention on the matter of safety and quality to keep you comfortable during your stay.
Support local markets
Instead of eating in global franchise of a restaurant, you can opt for preparing your own meals and buy the groceries from local markets or local farmers. This way, you support family farms as well as the local economy. Not to mention that buying directly from the local farmers means lower impact of transportation emissions for the environment.
Opt for public transportation to get around
Taking public transportation means less money you have to spend for your trip. In addition, it is such a pollution-saving opportunity to take. Or, you can also opt for more environment-friendly alternatives such as biking or walking. Do some research in advance to look for safe and inexpensive public transportation you can take.
Practice slow travel
The purpose of slow travel is allow you to fully enjoy the place you are visiting. Also, you can opt for less popular attractions. Visiting several places in such a short time can give negative impacts to the environment as you leave more footprints. Not to mention that visiting only popular attractions may result in overcrowd and damage the facilities. Instead, you can simply slower your pace and stay longer to explore smaller locally-owned businesses and helps reinvest money back to the local community.
