Have you ever wondered about the impact you have on the places you visit? “Travelling with purpose” or “travel for good” is really starting to become a trend which we are over the moon with!
If you love nature just a little bit you have surely wondered how you can help preserve the destinations you love and well done you for even thinking about how you can be more conscious, good job! You are on the right path and we are right beside you.
We’ve made a list of things you have to consider before travelling if you want to protect those magical places where you feel so good and where you spend your holidays, so future generations can appreciate them too.
As devastating as 2020 was it did give us all an opportunity to rethink about how we do, well everything. It’s made us rethink our priorities and with travel being such a huge part of our lives it’s no wonder we are all chomping at the bit to get back out and explore.
We’ve been thinking lots about how we operate in the tourism industry. How we strike the perfect balance between nature and cultural respect and reduce our environmental footprint on K’gari.
1- Give your money to the good guys.
Imagine you find out that the hotel where you are staying uses thousands of single-use plastics every day, generates food waste regularly and don’t care about resources like water, petrol and energy? Well, sadly this happens with almost all the big chains. And let’s face it, it is more satisfying spending your holidays in a beautiful and cozy accommodation family-owned by locals.
Locals know how to treat their land, protect the place where they live and will give you good advice on how to explore the area, especially in Australia!
When it comes to tours and activities, the same thing happens. Small businesses usually offer unique experiences like ours that sometimes may cost a little bit more, but they are totally worth it.
Explore the local markets, for gifts and souvenirs try to purchase arts and crafts made by locals artisans and support the community and if you can, join a beach clean up! It’s such a feel good feeling to give back and the more support the little independants get the more we can give back to the place we love to share so much.
2- Learn and pass knowledge.
Whenever you travel, seize the opportunity to learn new things like history, nature, wildlife and cultural heritage. This helps to promote a more sustainable tourism industry, where the owners of our favourite places, like Aboriginal people or local communities, can teach us how to take care of their homes.
We get it, you are on holidays and you deserve a drink by the pool and have fun! But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from a local guide while you enjoy an outdoor activity. Just like we pass knowledge onto our children, we encourage you to pass on knowledge and sounge up knew knowledge wherever possible.
3 – Be original
This pandemic gave a good rest to some over visited places. Overtourism occurs all over the world and wildlife suffers the most. It is very rewarding to visit not so popular places, more exciting and special, where pictures and videos look equally awesome!
There are stunning isolated islands in The Whitsundays, wild and fresh creeks on Fraser Island, and secret beaches on the East Coast that will give you that feeling of a real and unique adventure.
4- You are a visitor, act like one
Remember you are in someone else home and you should take care of it as it was your own. So remember not to feed any animal and taking all your rubbish with you.
Always try to ask locals how the recycling system is and of course, avoid single-use plastics. It is such a common mistake to forget your water bottle and end up buying a plastic one at the closest shop before heading to your tour. So look back on your package essentials list and add a good water bottle, a coffee cup for your takeaways, a food container, reef-friendly sunscreen and bathroom essentials made of bamboo.
5- Transport, the key point
Our last tip focuses on transportation and how you choose to move during your holidays. This is one of the most important things if you want to reduce your carbon footprint while travelling.
If you are going on holidays with friends or family, consider using as fewer cars as possible like we do on our tours. Travelling together on a bus, train or riding around on bikes are all great ways to explore and meet new people. If you are road tripping, don’t go solo, invite a friend or get online with travello and meet new travel friends.