There’s a lot of talk in the travel sphere about sustainability and sustainable travel… but what exactly does it mean to travel sustainably? I believe that for travel to be sustainable, there must be a harmonious interaction between travelers, host communities, and the planet, with respect to many physical, sociopolitical, economic, and other factors. This Sustainable Travel Manifesto looks at the many interrelated factors in travel necessary to achieve a state of sustainability. I strive to abide by this manifesto in all of my travels, and I hope you find it useful in amplifying your own definition and understanding of sustainable travel.
This manifesto is based on the theoretical sustainability framework created by The Sustainability Laboratory, which looks at sustainability as the holistic integration of five domains: the material domain, the economic domain, the domain of life, the social domain, and the spiritual (values) domain.
The manifesto
Material domain
- Striving to match resource consumption to the availability of resources within the local environment (for example, limiting water use in water scarce areas)
- Reducing waste while traveling by limiting the use of disposable items and single-use plastics, opting for eco-friendly and reusable items whenever possible, and traveling with a “green suitcase”
- Limiting transportation-related carbon emissions (when possible, striving to take buses, trains, and other lower-emission forms of transportation over flights, utilizing public transportation, and limiting car use)
- Supporting accommodations, establishments, and enterprises with eco-friendly and waste-to-resource approaches; limiting or avoiding those with an unsustainable environmental footprint
- Offsetting emissions using thoroughly vetted programs, or investing in eco-friendly transportation technology
Economic domain
- Striving to keep the greatest possible percentage of money spent during travel within the local economy by supporting locally-owned accommodations, patronizing local shops and restaurants, and choosing local tour guides; avoiding or limiting patronization of foreign-owned or chain businesses
- Striving to minimize economic exploitation in the travel sphere by paying fair prices for goods and services consumed during travel, with respect to any differentials in currency strength between the traveler’s country of origin and the host country
- Practicing ethical marketplace and haggling behaviors by ensuring that purchase prices are fair to both the vendor and the customer, and attributing the value of goods and services purchased abroad also to their emotional, environmental, and/or experiential value; avoiding haggling when appropriate
- Budgeting for travel based on the idea of financially contributing to the destination, and rejecting any form of budget travel that leads to the exploitation of others
- Donating to local organizations, during or post travel
Domain of life
- Protecting the flora, fauna, and ecosystems of the places we visit during travel by adopting “leave no trace” behaviors (i.e. respecting all rules and staying on marked trails in natural areas, promoting responsible behaviors around wildlife, picking up trash and limiting waste generation, using ecologically safe body care products while visiting sensitive ecosystems)
- Promoting coexistence with wildlife by avoiding any activities that lead to the exploitation of animals in the tourism industry, and not purchasing items or souvenirs made from endangered species
- Supporting conservation-based ecotourism activities that work to preserve and protect flora, fauna, and ecosystems
Social domain
- Seeking to learn about local cultures through study of the history, languages, religions, customs, and traditions related to the places we visit
- Using tourism to support and uplift local cultures (such as by patronizing locally led and organized cultural initiatives and activities)
- Striving to engage in cultural exchange with the people we interact with during our travels
- Respecting local customs when visiting sites or attending events of religious and/or cultural importance (i.e. opting for appropriate clothing choices, respecting rules or restrictions related to photography, engaging in appropriate behaviors when visiting sacred sites or sites of mourning)
- Protecting vulnerable members of society by avoiding any activities that lead to the exploitation of children (i.e. not supporting child labor in the tourism industry, avoiding orphanage tourism, not giving to child beggars), rejecting sex tourism, and supporting local marginalized groups
- Sharing fair, balanced, well-researched, and uplifting content when documenting travels and detailing travel on social media, striving to decolonize travel vocabulary, encourage responsible tourism, and promote social justice on a global scale
Spiritual domain
- Understanding that during travel we are guests in the communities of others, and thus should always treat those places with respect
- Exercising good judgment when choosing our travel destinations, taking into account any sensitive political, environmental, or other factors present in the destination, and traveling elsewhere if necessary
- Recognizing the value in all cultures, regardless of how different these cultures may be from our own; refraining from judgments, reductions, stereotypes, and from imparting our values frameworks onto other cultures
- Respecting local knowledge and insight of conditions in the places we visit, and not assuming that we know better
- Aiming for our travels to serve as a form of self-education, both for personal growth and for enhanced knowledge of the world around us; sharing these insights with others post-travel to encourage cultural awareness, break down stereotypes, and promote social justice
- Relinquishing the idea that everyone should travel, as not everyone can travel, wants to travel, or is willing to be a respectful guest in host communities
- Recognizing that travel is a privilege and not a right, and practicing gratitude for the opportunity to travel