Look, I love to travel. I was going to say ‘as much as the next person’, but the truth is I love to travel way more than the average person, and I know that it’s probably the single biggest contributor to my personal carbon footprint. I always feel the call to want to see more new and exciting places, and to learn about cultures and places other than my own - so how can I reduce my impact whilst travelling around the globe?

Let’s set aside flights, carbon offsetting and the footprint of the mass transport industry (not a small topic) to be covered another day, and today focus on what you do with your time when you get there. 

Enter: ‘Ecotourism’. This term came into everyday vocab in the early 1980s, and has been deemed ‘critical’ by environmentalists, both to inspire current visitors to want to care for this world and the amazing places that we have, and to ensure that it remains there for future generations to appreciate. Defining ecotourism really comes down to this: is what you’re doing nature-orientated, ethical, and building on (and financially contributing to) environmental education or conservation efforts? Let’s discuss.

1. Nature-orientated

First and foremost, nature has to be at the heart of the activity or experience. The idea is to highlight the beauty and fragility of the local environment by immmersing tourists in nature without the distractions of everyday life. This doesn’t mean that you can’t be an ecotourist in your own backyard, but giving yourself time to truly sit with and appreciate nature is much easier outside of the daily grind. 

2. Ethical 

You may have heard the saying ‘there is no environmental justice without human rights’, and this applies heavily in the ecotourism space. Environmental justice and ensuring environmental equity is so closely intertwined with upholding human rights and social justice that you cannot have one without the other. Therefore, supporting human rights and democratic movements, along with empowering local people and respecting local culture are crucial to any ecotourism experience. 

3. Contributing to the local environment 

The last piece of the puzzle is contributing to local conservation efforts and environmental awareness. A direct financial contribution to locals and conservation efforts is expected, along with education about local species or habitats and/or participating directly in environmental conservation. This should be geared towards a better understanding and reduction of human impacts on the environment, and be an obviously tangible part of your experience which means that you leave more knowledgeable than you arrived.

Now, is it always possible to find an experience that meets these criteria? No, of course not, and there’s always places where this type of experience just doesn’t exist. But, you always have a choice as to how you spend your time and money in your well-earnt time off. Where you can, do your best to make sure that you’re having a great holiday AND positively contributing to wherever it is that you’re visiting. 

One last note; you’ve got to be discerning when looking for an experience like this - a vague, one-off, mention of the word ‘ecotourism’, is likely not going to cut it. Do your research, and make sure that you’re spending your money in alignment with your values.

Written by Charlotte Hansford 

Want to guarantee that your next ecotourism adventure is one you won’t regret? Check out our upcoming Experiences - we make sure that every single one of them ticks all the boxes above.