Sustainable and responsible Travel- budget options

No extra effort or expense!

Why do we travel? The reasons could be many, but ultimately it gives us some time off from the normal routines we delve into.  When I started traveling, it was merely a leisure activity with friends.  Then I gradually liked it and did it more and more often. That’s when I realized that the way travel and tourism is being promoted sporadically, the unsustainable practices will not let the places be as we find them today.

It would be a fool to say that government should regulate tourism in a more sustainable manner. We all know that they would just be just reviving all the derelicts (ruined by use!), later someday. Which can do no good to the heavens created by nature.

What can you do? Without burning a hole in your pocket…..

• Carry your own water bottle wherever you can while you travel. Yes you may have to buy it sometimes, but try your best to get if refilled wherever you can. Foreign tourists however should refrain from refilling as the water available commonly might not be suitable for their them.

• Globally, 389 billion of PET bottles had been produced in 2010, 46% of them for water packaging (ELIPSO, 2012). Bio-degradation of one PET bottle left in nature can last around 500 years. Thus, this causes many and varied environmental concerns for both terrestrial and marine areas. Its accumulation is of more concern in the world’s oceans, where about 10% of global plastic production amass each year (Fitzgerald, 2011).

• I usually carry a coffee flask with me when going for a day out or something. So there are three benefits from this- Saving money, Less waste, less carbon emissions for a new mug. Even if you need a coffee later, you can get it filled in your own mug.

• Some coffee shops have been incentivizing the use of personal mug by giving discounts as well !! Brands like Waterstones, Costa, Starbucks do that. Do cross check for you own country though.

Check this link for more info on UK based coffee shops- ·https://www.oceanfinance.co.uk/blog/coffee-shops-with-the-best-discounts-when-using-an-eco-coffee-cup/

Also you could try using your own cutlery if you have a lot of takeaway food, especially while traveling. Benefits? Less rubbish, surety of the hygiene, at you disposal whenever you need it. Check this link for a budget friendly option- https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/foldable-stainless-steel-camping-fork-and-spoon/_/R-p-309005?mc=8551090&c=GREY

• When you go hiking up in the mountains, there are streams of water flowing which provide freshwater, very potable. But you do need to use water bottle filters for this water to remove the bacteria. Check this link for a budget friendly option- (https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/soft-compressible-water-bottle-filter-mt500/_/R-p-307923?mc=8553332&c=BLUE

• Whatever things you buy, try keeping the wrappers and disposable waste in your bag and dispose it off at once in a dustbin or waste facility. Believe me, it won’t add even half a kg to your luggage weight ! But it adds to the weight of a person collecting heaps of waste all littered by the tourists. Lets try and feel responsible for our own waste!

• Before you are off to travel, keep some food packed from home or from a restaurant. This shall refrain you from buying unnecessary chips or junk food. Hence less littering around!

• People who go hiking, I would like to ask a question. What possibly in the world would go wrong if we don’t put loud music on speakers? Well for me hikes are a refuge from our routine lives where we are everyday  surrounded by music. There are fellow hikers who would like to experience nature and listen to the sounds of nature and not disturb the wildlife, which is the sole purpose of hikes. If you are such a music lover, kindly put it on some earphones.

• Appreciate the local ways of transport or walk a mile.  Especially when visiting the offbeat places, let us not make everywhere motorable. otherwise whats is the point of these places if there’s noise of traffic everywhere.