HOW TO BE A RESPONSIBLE TOURIST AND HELP THE SUSTAINABILITY OF TOURIST DESTINATIONS?

We must not forget that one of the main actors of sustainable tourism are the tourists themselves, who are adopting responsible tourism practices, but what is responsible tourism about and how can I apply it?

More and more people have begun to become aware of the sustainability of their own place of origin and the destinations they visit, in large part the companies that are part of the chain of formal tourist services seek to work on sustainable tourism with main objectives as the economic growth of the residents and businesses near the tourist attractions, the labor inclusion and equal pay to the workers of the sector, promoting their professional and personal development and the protection of the destinations and natural resources so that they can regenerate and continue to serve as a point of encounter between visitors, residents and our beautiful and intelligent nature.

We must not forget that one of the main actors of sustainable tourism are the tourists themselves, who are adopting responsible tourism practices, but what is responsible tourism about and how can I apply it?

REDUCE YOUR FLIGHT TIME

Many times, we usually do many scales, increasing the number of flight hours to reach a destination, when 1 to 2 flights could take us directly in less time, getting down this way our carbon emissions, we could also take ground transportation for short distances and take advantage of knowing everything that the route has for us.

We can also opt for the use of digital boarding passes to minimize paper consumption.

SEEK TO RELATE WITH THE ENVIROMENT

Ask our Formal Travel Agency about the customs and way of life of the residents of each destination to avoid misunderstandings, learning a few words in the language of the destination visited will help us establish a relationship of trust with the inhabitants generating a most real and meaningful experience on our trip.

USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND TRY TO TRAVEL LIGHT

Many times, we prefer to spend a private moment, especially when transferring to our excursions or to and from the airport, but the impact we generate can be very great, we always recommend the use of shared services, where you can share with other passengers who will make the same activities as us, minimizing the environmental impact and achieving relationships that could generate a positive impact within our own experience.

We also recommend packing light, it will help to carry less load in our transportation with which fuel consumption will be less, , but remember to always pack what you will need so that your trip is as comfortable as possible.

PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL ACTIVITIES

In our free time after each excursion, we recommend participating in the activities of the locals, visiting the local markets and fairs, learning about their customs and culture, it should be emphasized that we must always put our safety first, that is why before leaving we must ask to the hotel or call the agency to find out which places are safe and which are not.

RESPECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND LOCAL CULTURE

Find out how to reduce your impact on national parks and protected areas, follow the paths marked by the people in charge and do not feed the animals of the place, in addition to not uprooting any plants or flowers from the place visited, remember that everything is part of an ecosystem and the idea is to know it without affecting the parts that make it up, remember that the only footprint you should leave is your feet on the road

Look for formal tourism providers (with this you’ll work with companies that pay a fair salary to their workers), control the use of plastic, reuse what you can, such as plastic bottles, and avoid making inappropriate use of water.

LIVE LOCAL AND CONSUME RESPONSIBLY

Let’s take some time to go to the local market and try their products such as fruit, crafts, fabrics and others, always try to put the business and local brands first before big brands. Let’s try not to haggle over prices so much and try not to buy products made from animals such as seashells, coral, tusks and others. Do not buy illegal imitations, give priority to the unique products of the artisans and show our interest by asking about the technique they use.

These are some tips that we can give you to be a responsible tourist, in short, we must respect the place where we are, both its culture and its nature, since we depend a lot on the latter, give priority to local products and avoid buying illegal imitations that harm the local economy and generate a lot of informal work, also avoid businesses where minors are exposed to any type of exploitation and finally, reduce our carbon footprint, let’s do our bit so that our planet lasts for much longer for future generations.

It has been a pleasure to be able to share with you this little information on responsible tourism and we hope that you have enjoyed it and that you are putting into practice some or several tips that we have mentioned.

See you on our next blog!

Peruvian Shades