Defining Sustainable Travel (and these other terms)

• Don’t these words just mean the same thing?
• Should travellers really take responsibility (spoiler, it’s no with a catch)
• How to travel ‘sustainably’ in a nutshell

Don’t these words just mean the same thing?

Sustainable travel, according to UNWTO, combines environmental conservation, respect for cultural heritage, and cultural understanding. It also ensures that host communities receive a fair distribution of socio-economic benefits, including stable employment, income opportunities, and social services.

So, don’t ‘responsible travel’, ‘slow travel’, and other common catch phrases basically mean the same thing?

Whilst all of these terms infer enabling and increasing the positive impacts of travel whilst mitigating the negative ones, each word describes a slightly different context.

The Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Travel incorporated efforts to ‘minimise economic, environmental, and social impacts, improve ‘economic opportunities’ for the local population’, ensure that local involvement in decision making, and foster ‘meaningful connections’ between tourists and locals.

So how are these two any different?

To me, and to other sources I have read, including a blog post by Tilt, sustainable travel is about the ‘end product’. For travel to be truly sustainable, profound changes are needed within businesses and policy.

In contrast, responsible travel is the actions anyone can take that will have a greater positive impact and reflect the goals of responsible travel. For example, businesses can enable more local workers to enter managerial positions, implement practices that support community development, or adopt more eco-friendly practices. Whilst tourists can intentionally support locally owned businesses, avoid unethical practices including ‘poverty tourism’ and unethical wildlife encounters, and opt for more eco-friendly transport.

Multiple travellers have described ‘slow travel’. To me, it is about taking the time to engage with the local community, reflect, and relax rather than rushing around trying to ‘tick things off the list’. It can include spending more time in destinations, which I strongly advise any long-term traveller to do. It is less tiring, you learn much more than you would by visiting somewhere new every few days, and it saves money. Although I understand that opting for this is an immense privilege, many have work and home commitments, and may not have the budget to spend that long outside their own country.

Then say there are other specific terms that differ subtly, and that people can read more about them by clicking here.

Should Travellers Take Responsibility?

Tourists/travellers are not to blame for the problems within the tourism industry. Naturally, travelling less responsibly is more accessible simply because most aren’t informed about responsible travel; in fact, until around a year ago, I wasn’t!

Many businesses instinctively prioritise profit. So it is bound to unfold that some will adopt unethical practices to make a profit without us knowing. Our perspectives and biases, including my own, have been heavily shaped by prevailing narratives, so it is also unsurprising that we have a lot of unlearning to do.

But when I began learning about the consequences of unethical travel, it shaped how I wanted to travel, which is why I now create content about responsible travel. A report from the World Travel and Tourism Council revealed that 70% of travellers prioritise sustainability, a 20% increase from three years ago. Consequently, businesses have begun to adjust by adopting more sustainable practices, including ‘community-led tourism’, ‘eco-friendly accommodations’, and ‘sustainable transportation’.

This perfectly shows us that if we adopt how we travel and our travel preferences, some businesses have no choice but to follow suit. So we do have an impact.

How to ‘Travel Sustainably’?

When I first began travelling, I wasn’t sure where to begin when it comes to travelling more ‘sustainably’, and I am still learning about the problems within the travel industry. Thankfully, there are content creators, often with expertise, educational materials in the form of books, podcasts, and websites, and businesses/directories that make sustainable travel more accessible. I have learned a lot about sustainable travel by initially reading blogs and following relevant creators, though I have since spent more time researching.

It is also challenging to know whether a business is really ‘sustainable’, particularly with the amount of ‘Greenwashing’ that occurs today.

Because of this, I have put together a page that incorporates sustainable travel content creators (who often have their own blog, podcast, or have written a book) and sites where you can find multiple impactful businesses whilst you are travelling. Soon, I will be uploading a page of resources that go deeper, including books, podcasts, and websites, along with a guide to finding community as a sustainable traveller. You can find these by clicking the links or by navigating the top bar, which features the sustainable travel directory.