Am I doing more harm than good?

Jetting off to lots of different countries pumps out a lot of C02 - but does that mean you shouldn't travel at all? Let's have a closer look...

What has developed in the last few years is a new way of travelling the world; one which privileges the needs of the planet above the needs of the tourist and meaningful travel ahead of traditional tourist holidays. The aim is to develop a responsible travel industry which conserves the environment and improves the lives of local people. However, there are still some who doubt whether any kind of international travel can be justified, no matter how well intentioned. In order to help you make up your mind, this article will take a closer look at some of the issues.

Can tourism ever be good?

It’s true that �tourism’ as we have tended to understand the term has very bad connotations; high rise hotels, boozy stag weekends and greedy tour operators have given it a very bad name. Those behind more responsible forms of travel want to reclaim it from those who don’t know their El Salvador from their elbow and show people that there is a different way to see the world. After all, it never used to be like this; Marco Polo didn’t invite his mates over for a drunken weekend when he became the first westerner to discover China!

The USAID has highlighted responsible travel as playing a crucial role in conserving natural habitats and the UN has said that it can be an important source of foreign exchange and employment. One of the biggest criticisms of international travel is that fuel emissions remain high whatever you do when you arrive at a place. The facts are that air travel accounts for only around 5% of total carbon emissions and while that is still worrying, we’ve got a great tip for reducing the impact further. Read on for that and to see the other ways you can make a positive difference.

How can I make a positive difference?

The World Tourism Organisation has declared sustainable tourism the fastest growing sector in the tourist industry as a new generation of people are redefining their responsibilities to the world. We’re going to take a look at the ways in which you can make a positive impact when you travel. Before you even set foot in another country you need to make sure you will be working with the right sort of projects. Too many projects are set up to meet the demands of western travellers rather than the needs of local people. Make sure the projects you consider have been set up locally by people who understand the problems.

Help the environment

Sustainable tourism helps protect local eco-systems, improve understanding between cultures and provides a sustainable income for local people, rather than the boom and bust of traditional tourism. For example, doing bio-diversity work can protect the environment, give local businesses an income from volunteers and promote awareness of conservation efforts. By allowing local people to share in the profits of tourism it gives them a reason to protect local areas, whereas when large tourist companies are in charge they can simply exploit a place and move on when it loses its appeal. Pick your destination carefully so as to avoid those places already overrun with tourists.

Help people

Being careful to eat, sleep and drink locally will help provide a sustainable income for local people and is something you should consider whatever sort of travelling you intend to do. There are plenty more specific ways you can help too; community volunteer work makes an obvious contribution while teaching English is your chance to improve the lives of whole groups of people in one go. Millions of people around the world want to learn English and doing so increases their life opportunities and helps them to build better futures.

Top Tips to make sure you’re doing more good than harm

• Travelling anywhere increases your carbon footprint so offset your carbon emissions at Climate Care . Simply enter flight details and donate money to sustainable energy projects.
• Pay extra attention to the little stuff; dropping litter in a fragile eco-system is even worse than dropping it at home
• Avoid souvenirs if their production has been at an environmental cost, or if they haven’t been made locally
• Avoid souvenirs if their production has been at an environmental cost, or if they haven’t been made locally
• Don’t travel to places overrun with tourists; they need more people like a fish needs a bicycle
• If you want to bring gifts for the children on your project, try and avoid disposable items that will only be popular for about 5 minutes

http://www.i-to-i.com/a-little-bit-of-everything/

http://www.wwf.org.uk/

http://http://www.corpwatch.org/

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