As a traveler, you’ve probably heard the word “sustainable” a lot. There’s almost no destination, tour, or hotel that doesn’t label itself with this word, and there are hundreds of new sustainable travel practices that have become popular in the last decade. If you reject plastic bags when shopping, use non-pollutant sunscreen, or decide your hotel’s sheets not to be washed every day, you might think of yourself as a sustainable traveler, and in part, you are.
But it turns out that being eco-friendly is only a small fraction of what sustainable truly stands for. Practicing sustainable tourism means to take in account how we, as visitors, are making an economic, social, and environmental impact on the places we are traveling, and find a way to turn those actions into helpful resources for the host environment.
Sustainable tourism is still developing, and is not perfect yet when solving every specific problem that traveling brings. However, in Hamaca Tropical Tours we do our best on being socially and environmentally friendly to the places we take you. That’s why today, we bring you three reasons of why we prefer to practice sustainable tourism.
It benefits the economy of local communities
Tourism is one of the primary income of many countries in the world. Though it is essential to the economic growth of several places, it can also be harmful to either small communities and big cities. Eating at an international fast food chain, for example, will not give many resources back to the area you are visiting. But when you choose to eat at a local restaurant or book your accommodation in a locally-owned hotel, you’re helping the money to flow into the community.
It preserves the native cultures
Every place in the world has different values and customs. When tourists arrive in a destination expecting to be entertained instead of learning from the site they’re visiting, neither the guest nor the host benefit from the experience, and people will prioritize the economic growth over the preservation of their culture. By visiting historical monuments, dressing accordingly to the social rules of the place, and participating in local activities, you are promoting a cultural exchange that aids both sides.
It protects the natural environment
Above, we talked about the eco-friendly practices we all know. But there are much more habits to be done to preserve the natural environment. When taking seashells as souvenirs from the beach, for example, or eating an endangered fish, tourists are taking valuable resources from the ocean and coastal life. Just as money, keeping the natural resources where we find them benefits the natural cycle of the habitat we are visiting.
So, now you have the main reasons of why we encourage you to go sustainable with Hamaca Tropical Tours. Sustainable tourism helps us to preserve the natural and social environments of the places we visit while promoting more stable economies. It also gives you a unique opportunity of stepping in someone else’s shoes and learn more about the world through different eyes.
