Sustainable travel + doing good = social travel
You would like to travel more and discover the world, but you can’t really agree with your conscience? Then you’re like many other travelers. Your next trip is coming up, but you want to do things a little differently. You want to travel in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way and at the same time make a positive difference? We have good news for you: that’s possible! Find out what social travel means, how it relates to sustainable travel and how you can do good while traveling. Sign up for our newsletter and download our ebook with specific tips for your next sustainable trip.
Dilemma: Discovering the world despite climate crisis
You are aware of the planetary challenges. You are familiar with climate change and that is why you ask yourself whether it is selfish to go on vacation or not. You are also familiar with mass tourism. You know that in many parts of the world it has its drawbacks. This can be seen on the one hand in the destruction of our environment and on the other hand in the unfair distribution of money in tourism: far too often the revenues do not benefit the destination region and the local population, but flow into the pockets of single individuals.
First of all, it is very good that you are thinking about the global difficulties and not irresponsibly fly back and forth. The fact that you want to see beautiful places, have authentic travel experiences and meet inspiring people despite the climate crisis is not selfish at all – in fact, many travelers feel that way. While it may sound to you at first as if sustainability and tourism are completely mutually exclusive, because making a completely sustainable trip is not possible, you can make an effort to do it as sustainably as possible! But how do I actually travel sustainably?
How to travel sustainably
Sustainable travel means traveling in an ecologically sustainable, economically profitable and socially responsible manner and is based on three aspects according to the World Tourism Organization:
- Environmental resources are to be conserved. In other words, they are to be used only in such a way that ecological processes are maintained and natural resources and biodiversity are protected.
- The culture of the population being traveled to should be respected. Socio-cultural structures of the host countries should be respected so that existing and lived traditions as well as cultural heritage can be maintained and intercultural understanding and tolerance can be built up.
- The economic situation in the target country is to be promoted and at the same time a contribution to poverty reduction is to be made. Stable economic activities should contribute to the empowerment of the local population: employment, secure income opportunities, provision of social security systems.
Social travel – what is the connection with sustainable travel?
Those who travel socially contribute to the advancement of fair tourism, from which all parties benefit. For us, social travel means that a trip should show a social added value. Therefore, on our website you can filter by Impact: Education, Nature Conservation, Animal Welfare, Equality, Health or Sports.
Sustainability is implemented in three dimensions, which also guide the World Tourism Organization: ecology, economy and social. Thus, it can be said that social travel can be classified as sustainable tourism. At socialbnb you have the opportunity to book sustainable accommodation, have authentic travel experiences, meet inspiring people and support an ecological or social project at the same time.
At socialbnb, we want to emphasize that travel and sustainability don’t always have to be mutually exclusive.
Doing good while traveling: this is how it works
“Avoid flying”, “Reduce plastic on your trip” or “Don’t take a cruise” are probably things each of us has heard. Did you know that the tourist climate footprint goes far beyond traveling to and from a destination by plane, and that your accommodation also tends to have a very high CO2 footprint? But which accommodation is the best to use and how can you act sustainably on site? For more specific tips, sign up for our newsletter and get our ebook that goes beyond the long obvious suggestions from the internet.
Want to learn more about social travel? Then click here and read our blog post on this topic.