A recent booking.com global survey of 31,000 travelers found that 71% of respondents “want to leave the places they visit better than when they arrived”. Eighty-three percent said sustainable travel is important to them. Now, as travelers wake up to the social impacts of tourism, travel businesses are responding in kind, helping visitors maximize the positives—and minimize the negatives—of their travels.
The traveler platform, for example, has launched a program in which every guest stay helps fund a local charity. Stayaltered offers a “community” accommodation booking platform that connects travelers with independent hosts in more than 30 countries on six continents. Home-stay platforms like Kindred offer alternatives for travelers trying to avoid some of the negative impacts associated with short-term vacation rentals.
Tour operators also empower travelers to engage with difficult social issues in the communities they visit. The nonprofit Abara has a three-day “listening” along the United States-Mexico border, with an emphasis on helping visitors understand the social and human dynamics at play in the region. The Telos Group offers tours in South Africa, the US South, and Ireland and Northern Ireland, with a focus on helping travelers engage with difficult social stories. Organizations such as Invisible Walking Tours, Invisible Cities and Migration Tour have devised walking tours whose guides offer visitors alternative perspectives on social issues in cities such as London, Edinburgh, Paris and Rome.
There are also new resources for travelers who want to educate themselves about the social impact of their travels. The Rise Travel Institute offers online courses on responsible travel and other topics. The organization also recently released a free e-book on travel decolorization. The non-profit Cares Tourism has created a major travel map featuring organizations, accommodations and tours designed to have a positive impact on communities and the environment.
Vincie Ho, RISE’s executive director, acknowledges the growing public awareness of tourism’s impacts on communities and the environment, but noted that “the Say-Do gap is still huge.”
Travelers should be wary of greenwashing and “ethical washing,” Ms. Ho said.
“We really have to dig deeper and think critically, and not just be sold on something because a company says they’re doing the right thing,” he said.
