Responsible tourism is the new frontier for travel lovers, who wish not only to travel the world, but also to love and respect it. But what, precisely, is meant by “responsible tourism”? In this article we will shed light on the most important aspects of this ethically and civically just practice.

What is Responsible Tourism?

“Responsible tourism” refers to an approach to travel that aims to minimize negative impacts on tourism destinations and maximize benefits to local communities.

The principles of responsible tourism include environmental sustainability, supporting local communities, respecting local culture, and being aware of an area’s history and problems. Let’s find out more about them.

Environmental Sustainability

The sustainable approach should be implemented in any corner of the globe, both when one is at home and in the locations to which one travels. The responsible traveler does not forget good environmental sustainability practices when on vacation. Thus, with responsible tourism comes practices such as recycling, using environmentally friendly means of transportation, and saving water and energy resources. In addition, for those who want to further demonstrate their love for an area, one could help parks and nature reserves through donations or volunteer actions.

Supporting local communities

One must always remember the communities living in the destination area. Responsible tourism also involves supporting the local economy by purchasing local products and using services that employ local workers. Travelers can choose locally owned and operated accommodations, tours and other experiences.

In this respect, the effort of an increasing number of cities in investing in sustainable tourism should also be highlighted. An activity, this one, that allows Italian regions and provinces to promote territories generally excluded from the mainstream (such as, for example, small villages). The promotion of immersive and slow activities help in the more comprehensive knowledge of the territory and its cultures and traditions (including culinary).

Respect for local culture

Respect for local culture is often overlooked, especially when one does not thoroughly inform oneself before visiting a faraway country with customs and traditions different from one’s own. Understanding and respecting local cultures and traditions includes behaving appropriately in sacred places, obtaining consent before taking pictures of people, and, in some cases, dressing appropriately for the place.

Education and Awareness

One of the aspects that can be included in a responsible approach to tourism concerns awareness of the history, culture and problems of a particular area. Such activities could also include online research; in this regard, regardless of your preferred travel style, it is important to think about security, which includes online security aimed at protecting one’s data. For this, it would be advisable to use a VPN and choose a server that suits your needs. For example, for a trip to Switzerland, you can use the Swiss servers of a VPN to improve connection and speed. Using VPN servers in Switzerland or, in general, those in the country you are in can greatly improve your online browsing and make your searches faster and more secure.

Ethical Tourism

Responsible tourism takes into account important issues such as child labor and animal exploitation. Responsible travelers avoid activities that may contribute to these practices.

Why is responsible tourism becoming fashionable?

Increasing attention to environmental issues is a phenomenon that manifests itself in changing one’s behavior in many ways, from choosing which means of transportation to use to travel to school or work to setting one’s thermostat. Thus, bringing good environmental sustainability practices into travel becomes almost an extension of daily habits.

But, as we have seen, responsible tourism includes not only an environmentalist approach, but also one that is respectful of local communities, their land and products, their culture and traditions, with an eye to the problems they may experience at any given time. It could be said that responsible tourism is becoming more and more fashionable precisely because it is increasingly appreciated by host territories. Moreover, it offers a feeling of greater satisfaction, since not only do you not negatively impact the environment of an area, but you try to understand and help it, to “become part of it.”

In short, with responsible tourism one truly becomes a citizen of the world.