What is responsible tourism and tips for practicing it

Responsible tourism is a term and an approach that has been gaining importance year after year in order to raise awareness about the impact of our visit to the destinations we choose to meet or spend our holiday. The objective is to create responsible travelers that reduce the negative impact of actions in a place at an economic, social and environmental level, and thus promote sustainable tourism.

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And yes, practicing responsible tourism is a duty that we have as travelers, however, in my experience and way of seeing responsible tourism, I do not like to think so much as an obligation to reduce the impact of our trip, but as a travel philosophy that makes the experience of visiting a place rich and becomes a state of constant discovery.

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Making responsible tourism is a form of travel that benefits us all. Learn how to be a responsible tourist with these tips that we present below.

Tips for responsible tourism

Consume locally

This first advice for responsible tourism seeks to support culture, artistic traditions and local businesses. How? Buying products and pieces of handicrafts made from the area and not those produced in mass and brought from another country, but also going to the squares and markets where the locals eat and taste the true seasoning of the typical dishes of the place you are visiting. In this way you are not only supporting the local economy and culture, but you are saving money and getting original memories, as well as tasting delicious food.

Respect historical monuments

This should not appear as one of the responsible tourism councils, unfortunately there are many people without conscience who only extract stones or objects from archeological sites or make figures, paint or scratch monuments or historical sites. Do not allow it, and if you have ever done it, do not do it again, remember that these places are part of the history of the place you are visiting and also of all of humanity. Then, follow the recommendations and regulations of the authorities in charge, only then we will be helping with the preservation of world heritage, and we will keep it for much longer for the next generations.

Take care of the environment

This includes not stealing, or taking home the shells from the beach or plants from natural sites. Making responsible tourism means reducing our ecological footprint as much as possible, and this is achieved by saving energy, water, not dirtying or leaving garbage in the areas we visit, especially when we are visiting a natural area, but also avoiding disturbing the ecosystem, which means, do not throw objects at plants or animals, supporting the use of these for taking photographs, making noise or crossing the areas defined by environmental authorities. Only then, we will help saving our planet and other travelers  that also want to enjoy the beauty of these incredible landscapes like us.

Use public transport or walk

This advice is linked to the previous one, using public transport or walking will help reduce the carbon footprint and emissions to the atmosphere and therefore take care of the environment, but what will really happen is that you will have the possibility of getting closer to the local culture and the way of life of people, alsos knowing  a new destination means walking through each street and aspiring the essence of the place. Walk, you will be surprised with what you can find.

Find out well

Informing yourself is the first step towards responsible tourism, and it is not only about seeking information about the monuments and places to visit, but also about local customs, traditions and laws, especially if it is a new country that you are going to to visit. The more unknown or distant your destination is, the more you will have to investigate, because only knowing the local culture will allow you to enjoy the trip and the experience much more.

Find ethical tour operators

If you plan to take or take a tour on your destination, do not hurry to contract the first one that appears in the search and much less the most economical, because most of the time, these do unethical practices that put on risk the life of tourists or animals and the environment. If you want to know what to do for responsible tourism at this point, investigate where the money you invest in this tour goes, which includes a contribution to the development of local communities, animal protection and heritage conservation.

Now you will know how to behave and what to do on your next trip to be a responsible tourist and create a positive impact on your destination. Do you want to help more? Share these tips with other travelers and let's make a great network of responsible tourism. Here you will find some amazing destinations for you.