Responsible Traveling

With increasing awareness towards environment and interest towards different cultures, responsible travel has formed a new way of travelling. Responsible travelling is more than just being respectful to local people and safe guarding the environment. If your travels are meaningful travels and you look for fulfillment along with learning about new cultures, discovering new ways of life and adventure, then responsible travel is for you, as you would be able to appreciate the value of travelling responsibility.
 

Responsible travel is about bringing an individual closer to local cultures and environments by involving local people in tourism. It's about doing this in a fair way that helps ensure that they will give you an even warmer welcome. For example, a local guide from the destination will open your eyes to their cultures and ways of life far better than anyone else; they will also earn a much needed income from you.

The responsible travelers want to get a little bit more out of their travels, and to give a little bit back to the special places and people that they encounter. They want deeper and more real travel experiences. The responsible traveler values authenticity – experiences integral to local people's traditions, cultures and rituals - rather than those created for tourism, or those whose existing meanings and uses have become lost as they have been packaged up for tourism.

At the same time the responsible traveler understands that some cultural experiences are best kept private, and that their visit would be an intrusion. They believe that travelling with respect earns them respect. 

In today’s world flying is affordable and relatively easy as compared to past. This does make the entire world a small place. One can travel easily but not without impacting our environment. Most of things that we do in our lives contribute to carbon dioxide emissions and global warming.  Air travel, although currently a relatively small contributor is the fastest growing source of CO2 emissions.  We must all take action to reduce our CO2 emissions across our entire lives, and this includes accepting that we must fly significantly less than we do now.  When we do fly on holiday it is even more important than our holiday is a responsible one. 

Responsible tourism involves and aims to minimize the negative economic impacts and work towards creating economic benefits for local people through employment and local purchases. It minimizes the negative environmental impacts by adopting environmentally friendly practices and contributing to and supporting local conservation efforts. It minimizes negative social impacts by involving local people in decision making, contributing to development of basic facilities and conserving culture and heritage. Responsible tourism creates more meaningful experiences for tourists by encouraging understanding and respect of local culture and environmental issues, building local pride. It creates and builds relationships between tour operators and host communities based on mutual respect and shared goals.  

Responsible travel is about everyone taking responsibility for their actions, from tour operators to local governments, to the host communities and tourists themselves.  Responsible tour operators work alongside local communities to create positive and equal benefits from tourism and create sustainable livelihoods.  Responsible tourists seek meaningful experiences through learning from respecting and understanding local communities to minimizing their environmental impacts and accept their surroundings for what they are.