Eco-Friendly TRAVELING
COVID-19 pandemic has largely put an end to international travel
With most of the flights canceled, international tourism became non-existent. Travelers abstained from international destinations as it would have increased the chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. Airports, bus stations, train stations, and rest stops became places where travelers could be potentially exposed to the virus in the air and on surfaces. With the downfall of international travel, people turned towards local destinations. Travelers started exploring domestic travel destinations and local tourist attractions. Local traveling was set to be a way out of this pandemic.
We can’t predict what will happen with the flights, but we can always jump in the car and take a detour
With local traveling gaining more popularity, we should not forget about the consequences that traveling carries. Traveling is the lifestyle that needs to adapt to certain standards when it comes preservation of nature and the environment.
Eco-friendly traveling became one of the popular lifestyle choices in the past decade. Interest in sustainable travel has had a 125% increase since 20018. According to TripAdvisor, nearly two-thirds of travelers plan to make more environmentally conscious choices over the next year. People from around the world are not only choosing eco–friendly accommodation to reduce their environmental impact but to have a local experience as well. A majority of the activities that tourists consciously engage in include reducing light pollution, recycling on-site, and participating in the program to reuse linens and towels in the hotels.
However, before we jump into ways to stay eco-friendly while traveling, we have to learn more about eco-friendly lifestyle. Eco-friendly can be any product or service that is not harmful to the environment. These products and services prevent contributions to air, water and land pollution. A person adopting an eco-friendly lifestyle needs to be open to change, have the willingness to make new choices, and have a positive attitude towards the environment. A person should be conscious about the environment, use natural resources carefully, be ready to recycle, and look at reducing the carbon footprint. The following steps can be implemented by supporting industries that are environmentally friendly and responsible.
I’ve interviewed one of the people following eco-friendly lifestyle Aila Baizhomartova from Kazakhstan, Aktobe. Aila works at Noble Hire in Sofia, Bulgaria, as Talent Success Specialist. She shared some insights on her eco-friendly lifestyle and advice for people. Aila started an eco-friendly lifestyle in 2015. “I don’t really remember a changing point. It was more like an ongoing process gradually changing a part of the lifestyle and discovering the new ways of supporting eco-lifestyle”. Her first impression of having an eco-lifestyle was when she went on the FLEX program to study in the United States. She marked it as one of the major points leading to a change. “I wasn’t allowed to throw away plastic and glass in the shared trash can”. Strict recycling policies in the USA made her think and research further about this lifestyle and sustainability.
“I started thinking more about the waste that every household produces, carbon footprint, and all of the damage that we are doing to nature and environment”. Aila described it as a moment of realizing how our life-style choices could affect us later in the future, presumably how they would affect our children, and the next generation. “When you think about this more you realize that you have some responsibility and you are capable of doing certain things already”
“For me, it was hard to start carrying my reusable straw everywhere. It was one of these things that make you feel a bit extra especially when you go to a restaurant. Sometimes even when I had a straw with me I would hesitate to use it in front of others”
Aila describes the biggest challenge in changing one’s lifestyle being people around. “The most important insight is to share your interest with people around you and to explain the benefits of the lifestyle”. Getting credible information concerning the eco –friendly products can be the other challenge. “For people who are just starting out this path, it is better not to research everything. You can start with small things like switching from using plastic to glass or something very easy that has a greater impact”. She says that we should understand that not everyone can afford to spend time reading every ingredient of the product but easy steps help us to make a choice. The products that Aila uses in everyday life are accessible to everyone; reusable shopping/grocery bags, metal and bamboo straws, reusable bottles, shampoo bars, and biodegradable trash bags.
Aila’s advice for eco-friendly traveling is to bring reusable cutlery, bottle, or stainless steel cup. It is very important to plan how you travel. “It is not advised to fly because of the carbon emission. It is advised to pack lightly to reduce a carbon footprint or rather to use transport with more people and take care of the trash.”
Aila’s advice for people is to talk about the eco-friendly lifestyle to the ones around them. Right now everyone has bits of information and it makes it easier to get information. “You don’t need to look for a substitute for every single product that you use in everyday life. It is better to start with some small transition every day and with small steps”. You can never think that tomorrow I will start an eco-friendly live style and tomorrow it will happen. “It is a long process and you need to be interested in what you are doing and feel good about you trying to make a change!”
Tips and Tricks for Eco-Friendly Traveling
Before you plan your next adventure, these are some tips and tricks collected for people eager to save the planet while traveling
Packing
Focus on buying powder or solid beauty products with zero-waste packaging, like toothpaste tabs, solid soap bars, deodorant bars, and shampoo bars
Avoid buying disposable products like cotton pads, q-tips, and disposable razors
Stay away from plastic by using bamboo products; sustainable, biodegradable, non-toxic bamboo cutlery and a bamboo toothbrush instead
Pack a capsule wardrobe of essentials items, which can be easily mixed and matched, layered, worn repeatedly, and also quickly and easily laundered
Transit
Travel carry-on only as checking a bag will cause paper waste since they’ll put a sticker tag on it, which can’t be recycled
Go paperless on documents, tickets, and receipts unless absolutely necessary; use e-tickets for all transport
Don’t purchase or carry paper books and magazines rather download digital entertainment instead such as movies or books
Try to avoid flying whenever possible and utilize all possible land or sea alternatives
If traveling by plane, use your phone or tablet’s headphones to plug into any inflight entertainment so you don’t purchase or use their plastic disposables
Dining
Eat at sit down restaurants and eat off of actual plates and silverware
For takeaway food, try to aim for establishments that use eco-friendly, recyclable, or compostable food containers, utensils, napkins, or straws
Carry a lightweight spork or a bamboo utensil set so that you never have to use plastic disposables
A reusable container can be used to get takeaway food, transport leftovers from restaurants, or at a shop
Use a plastic-free reusable water bottle which you can fill it at drinking fountains at transport stations
Recycle and compost everything through public recycling receptacles or a recycling station
Always use a reusable bag for shopping
Shop at farmers markets or natural shops for the best local and seasonal produce
Destination
Walk as much as possible when you can’t walk, take public transport as often as you can to reduce your carbon footprint
Stay in Airbnb/Couchsurfing instead of hotels. In homes, you can recycle, compost, and cook your meals
If you do stay in a hotel, display the no housekeeping sign up so all your linens don’t get laundered every day and wastewater
Be ever mindful of your consumption; conserve water, turn off lights, lower the heat or the AC, skip the dishwasher, the microwave, and the clothes dryer
Don’t buy souvenirs rather use a camera to save your memories
