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T<\/span>here\u2019s been a lot of talk through the pandemic of travel \u2018coming back better\u2019. More people seem to have had a genuine realisation about the devastating effects of our travel habits \u2013 namely, the impact of over-tourism, \u2018thoughtless\u2019 travel and the frequency of flying. The fact that many of us have had to \u2018pause\u2019 our exploring for over a year, has meant that we have been able to actually witness some of the world\u2019s beauty spots without the presence of swarms of tourists, and seen how the inherent wildlife in these places have flourished without us being there. In short, when travel resumes again, there\u2019s hope that tourists will give more thought about their impact on the planet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But how many of us actually know what this means in reality? Do we really understand how we can effectively put this desire into practice?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Travel expert and writer\u00a0Holly Tuppen\u00a0has pondered the issue a lot. Back in 2008 she embarked on a 20-month around-the-world-without-flying adventure, which cemented her interest in sustainable travel. On her return, she began to work for no-fly platform\u00a0Green Traveller<\/a>\u00a0and was editor of\u00a0Green Hotelier. In addition, as communications manager at the\u00a0International Tourism Partnership<\/a>\u00a0(ITP), she helped to shape corporate social responsibility strategies for the world\u2019s largest hotel chains.<\/u><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Is it an oxymoron to say \u2018sustainable travel\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n We are slowly realising that travel can be sustainable, but only if we acknowledge that there isn\u2019t time or space for unlimited growth. For several years, I\u2019ve struggled with this tension. On the one hand, travel brings inspiration, creates connections, and can renew people and places. On the other, it undermines local lives, causes environmental damage, and has become an unrelenting commodity.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Rather than battle it, I\u2019ve come to accept this lurching between the highs and lows of travel. It keeps me in check and encourages me to challenge. It stops me greedily jumping on a plane at every opportunity and helps me to embrace doorstep adventures. When I do get on a plane, it drives me to make it count by supporting the change-makers and telling their story; since\u00a0tourism was knocked\u00a0sideways by Covid-19, this is more important than ever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n What prompted your round-the-world-without-flying adventure? What were the main things that you \u2018learnt\u2019 from that experience?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n We wanted an adventure that took us to unexpected places and challenged us physically and mentally. So much of our life is carefully curated; overland travel snatches any notion of control and hands your fate over to strangers, the elements, and the open road. It throws grit and beauty at you in equal measure, and there\u2019s no knowing where the magic will sweep you up.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I learnt so much \u2013 such as: how much richer life is when you choose to trust strangers and take risks; how similar we all are in our needs and aspirations; how you can\u2019t judge anyone until you fully understand their unique context, and that adventure is everywhere if you\u2019re open to it. I hope I’ll never forget how tiny and insignificant we felt becalmed in the middle of The Atlantic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Do you think the effects of the pandemic will have a positive impact on the way we will travel? Or is there a danger \u2013 due to pent-up demand \u2013 that people will just travel anywhere, without thinking about their impact?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n A bit of both. There is pent up demand, and that\u2019s a worry. I\u2019ve heard reports of snorkelling boats taking up to 600 people a day to fragile reefs in places across South East Asia. People are understandably desperate to make money, and so visitor number limits go out the window.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But there\u2019s also much to be optimistic about. Covid-19\u2019s forced pause has led many travel companies and hotels to embed sustainability and regenerative practices into business operations. Most businesses wouldn\u2019t have had the time or inclination to do this if life had carried on as before. For example, nearly 300 companies have signed up to the\u00a0Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency<\/a>\u00a0initiative. Consumers have also had time to reflect and connect with landscapes, people, and nature closer to home, inevitably changing their travel aspirations and needs. Travellers are also savvier than ever when it comes to responsible business and demanding greater transparency.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n Meanwhile, destinations have had a taste of what life is like without tourists, which has helped to readdress the visitor\/resident balance. Places like Amsterdam, for example, have started to move the red-light district out of the city centre. Venice is finally standing up to cruise ships (albeit with a chequered start). New Zealand has revamped its sustainability commitment, emphasising how communities can benefit from visitors.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n It\u2019s a big question \u2013 but how imminent is the climate crisis?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n It\u2019s here and no longer a distant threat.\u00a0The\u00a0Intergovernmental Panel on\u00a0Climate Change\u00a0<\/a>(IPCC) state that a 1.5\u00b0C increase in global warming is\u00a0the limit the planet\u00a0can handle. At the current trajectory, it is estimated that we will reach the 1.5\u00b0C limit as early as 2030. To halt our advance beyond it, we need to cut carbon emissions in half by then globally. To put this in context, we need to reduce carbon to the same extent we have during Covid-19 every year.<\/p>\r\n If we reach 3\u00b0C of global warming in the next century, sea levels will rise by three feet, displacing 680\u00a0million people in low-lying coastal zones,\u00a0along with 65 million citizens of small island states. That\u2019s not to mention the fires, extreme weather events and drought.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n According to the\u00a0UN Refugee Agency<\/a>, in 2019, weather-related hazards triggered some 24.9 million displacements in 140 countries. It predicts that by 2050 climate-related disasters could double the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance to over 2,000 million each year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n How would you sum up what \u2018sustainable travel\u2019 really means to those who may be confused by some of the jargon that is often used?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n The\u00a0World Tourism Organization<\/a>, The United Nations\u2019 agency, defines sustainable\u00a0tourism as \u201ctourism\u00a0that takes full\u00a0account of its\u00a0current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors needs, the industry, the environment and host communities\u201d.<\/p>\r\n But such a vague definition is no longer fit for purpose. Surely the needs of visitors and the travel industry\u00a0should come after\u00a0the needs of\u00a0the environment and host communities? Is now the time to move beyond taking account of the negative and instead positively impact wherever we go?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n Rather\u00a0than dwelling on\u00a0the notion of\u00a0sustainability (where sustainability simply\u00a0means being able\u00a0to continue over\u00a0and over again),\u00a0perhaps now, in the midst\u00a0of an urgent\u00a0environmental crisis, we\u00a0need to seek\u00a0out transformative and\u00a0regenerative experiences: travel\u00a0that funds the\u00a0protection of nature;\u00a0travel that empowers\u00a0marginalised parts of\u00a0society; travel that is designed and driven by communities; travel that helps us learn from indigenous peoples; travel that heals; travel that brings us closer to our doorstep natural and cultural heritage; travel that uplifts the host as much as the visitor; travel that changes hearts and minds for the better.<\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/strong>What top three things can we all do to ensure we travel better?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n Taking responsibility for our carbon emissions is vital. This doesn\u2019t mean never flying again or only eating foraged seeds, but it does mean educating ourselves about what impact every single action we take has on the planet. We need to be a little more mindful about our decisions, like travelling less but for longer.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n Considering the impact of our trips from the perspective of the destination is also important. It helps to take a moment to flip roles and ask a few questions. Would you like tourists snapping photos of your kids at school? Would it feel fair if only visitors were allowed in a fenced-off section of your local park? Where does the water come from to keep that golf course green? How do local people and the environment really benefit from your snorkelling with a marine biologist? By putting ourselves in the shoes of the place and people we visit, we\u2019re more likely to seek experiences that have a positive impact.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n We also need to tackle tourism\u2019s economic leakage problem, where money mostly leaves a destination to benefit multi-nationals or international companies rather than local lives. According to the\u00a0United Nations Environment Programme<\/a>\u00a0(UNEP), for every $100 spent by a tourist on a holiday to a developing country, only $5 remains in the host community. The best way to solve the problem is to seek out locally-owned businesses from tour operators.\u00a0Now, more than ever, we also need to embrace travel\u2019s potential to transform, connect and inspire us to contribute to a greener and fairer society.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n Holly\u2019s new book, Sustainable Travel: An essential guide to positive impact adventures, will be released by White Lion Publishing, 22nd June. Order on Bookshop\u00a0to send profits to independent bookstores.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This is an excerpt from an interview by Angelina Villa-Clarke<\/a>, originally published by Forbes.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The pandemic has focused attention on the negative impacts of travel, which resulted in the \u2018coming back better\u2019 movement. In this interview with Forbes, travel expert and writer Holly Tuppen talks about what this means in reality and how we can put it into practice, based on her own sustainable travel experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":49523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1514,139,130,961,551,3797],"tags":[3719],"yoast_head":"\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screenshot-2021-06-18-211511.png\")