What is Ethical Travel?
What exactly is ethical travel?
To us, ethical travel means using our power as tourists to leave the places we visit better than we found them. That can mean many different things, such as:
Striving to make sure your money supports the local community by eating, shopping, and staying at locally-owned businesses.
Avoiding tours that are harmful to animals (you may be surprised by which ones are)
Minimizing your carbon footprint by taking steps to travel sustainably
Seeking genuine cultural exchange and sharing your travels respectfully
The ability to travel is a privilege that many will never have access to. We hope to inspire you to recognize that power, and find ways to use it for good!
We also don’t know everything. We’re always doing the best we can until we learn to do better. How do we learn? By listening to lots of fascinating voices and perspectives from all over the spectrum of travel. Many of our favorites are included here.
Here are some great resources to learn about all aspects of ethical travel:
ETHICAL TRAVEL BASICS
>> Responsible Travel is a pioneer in trips that support communities and preserve nature. They’ve got great explanations of responsible tourism, and a roundup of examples of things NOT to do.
>> G Adventures are Intrepid Travel are two tour companies that explain their commitment to running ethical tours right on their websistes.
>> The Last Tourist is an excellent film showing how tourists are unintentionally destroying the very things they’ve come to see, and how we can do better. (Plus Emily makes an appearance in the credits!)
>> Ethical Traveler is a nonprofit organization that empowers travelers to change the world. They run ethical tours and have a great podcast on this topic. (If podcasts are your thing, check out Alpaca My Bags which is all about responsible travel!)
>> Take Sustainable Travel’s “Travel Better” pledge to help create a world where tourism actively contributes to environmental and community well-being.
>> Peruse all our blog posts on the topic of ethical travel.
Image courtesy of Sustainable Travel
VOLUNTOURISM
Volunteering abroad can be incredibly problematic if it’s not done right (as volunteers ourselves, we’ve posted quite a bit about what we’ve learned). Here are some excellent resources I recommend EVERYONE read before you consider volunteer work abroad:
» The Problems of Volunteer Tourism – A great short video explaining why your volunteer trip may do more harm than good
» Learning Service – These wonderful folks have literally written the book on this topic. It’s called Learning Service: The Essential Guide to Volunteering Abroad and if you ask me, nobody should be allowed on a volunteer trip unless they’ve read it first. Their blog is also full of great resources!
» The Love You Give – Explains why you volunteering at orphanages harms the very children you hope to protect.
» The Problem with Little White Girls, Boys and Voluntourism by the fabulous Pippa Biddle
» Who Wants to Be A Volunteer? – A short video poking fun at problematic voluntourism
» The Reductive Seduction of Other People’s Problems by Courtney Martin – An excellent article that dives into the complexity of volunteering abroad
» Your White Savior Complex is Detrimental to My Development by Teddy Ruge, a Ugandan working in the development field who addresses the negative consequences of foreign intervention.
» Failed Missionary podcast – an awesome, no-holds-barred discussion about Christian mission work with people who have done it themselves. Many of their points deeply hit home for us as volunteers, even though we’re not religious.
» NoWhiteSaviors Instagram account – An excellent resource for learning about the white savior complex and how to dismantle it. This account is run in part by Africans who have personally experienced the negative impacts of voluntourism. They call out bad behavior but also offer solutions.
TRAVEL IS POLITICAL
If you think it’s not, that’s because you have enough privilege to ignore the repercussions. If that statement makes you uncomfortable, here are some excellent resources to help you dig deeper:
» Stop Pretending Everyone Can Travel – Travel blogger Oneika discusses travel privilege
» Tracing the Native American Roots of Natural Icons in the U.S. – A great National Geographic article on the violent history of our public lands – and why we mention the local Native American tribes whenever we post a photo on social media (thanks to the Native Land website and app this info is easy to find!)
» ‘We Are Not Wildlife’ – An article discussing the problems with slum tourism
» 5 Uncomfortable Questions About Traveling to Anti-LGBT Destinations – Lesbian travel bloggers Dopes on the Road discuss the ethics of traveling to countries with anti-LGBT laws and/or culture.
» On Passport Privilege and Traveling With A Weak Passport: Why I Can’t Just Pack and Go – Never heard of passport privilege? Then you probably hold a passport that gets you easy access to almost any country in the world. For citizens of many developing countries, gaining permission to travel is an ordeal.
» 18 Travel Bloggers With Different Perspectives to Follow – Wanna read about travel from folks who aren’t white, straight, skinny, 20-year-old Americans? Here’s a list for you!
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL
Let’s start here: No one’s perfect. Even if you don’t go 100% plastic-free or get your carbon footprint down to zero, there are simple ways you can be kinder to our planet while you travel.
Here are some great resources to inspire you:
» Sustainable Travel International
» Ecotravelist – A great travel blog that focuses on sustainability
» Sustainable Travel Infographics – I just love an infographic. Sustainable travel made easy!
» Top 10 Eco-Friendly Luggage Packing Tips – the staples of sustainable travel! (If these articles put you in the mood to invest in some earth friendly travel products, check out our trip planning page to see what we pack)
» Can Air Travel Ever Be Green? 9 Ways to Fly More Consciously – Great tips from ethical lifestyle blogger Conscious Life & Style for minimizing your footprint while flying
» A Timeline of Overtourism – Why locals in some popular destinations feel their cities have been “stolen by tourists” and what we can do about it
ANIMAL TOURISM
Animal lovers, I have news for you: Lots of animal tourism is TERRIBLE for animals. Make sure to do your research before you accidentally perpetuate practices that torture the creatures you came to see:
>> 14 Animal Attractions to Avoid – A great primer on which tours to avoid and why (If you’re thinking of riding an elephant or swimming with dolphins, READ THIS FIRST).
>> Wildlife Conservation Guidelines – How do you know if an animal tour is ethical? Check out these excellent tips for how to respectfully encounter wildlife all over the world.
>> Travel for Wildlife – Our favorite wildlife travel blog! Christina and Hal share tips and recommendations for just about any animal experience you could possibly imagine – all with a focus on promoting conservation through responsible tourism.
>> Top Ethical Animal Encounters from Around the World – A few of our favorite wildlife tours that we know and trust from personal experience.
Ethical tourism is a massive topic - but remember it’s about the journey, not the destination! Do the best you can as you learn, and don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress. How have you incorporated responsible tourism into your travels?
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