Travel slowly when the planet is in a hurry

However, more than a third (35%) acknowledge feeling that being more sustainable in a destination that is not adopting sustainability practices is of no use. An impression that is especially strong in countries such as Thailand (56%), India (53%) and the United Arab Emirates (52%). Regarding travelers’ perception of who has the greatest capacity to address environmental and economic challenges, a significant 51% of respondents consider governments to be the key actors in countering the economic effects of tourism, while 46% firmly believes in the essential role of travel service providers in mitigating environmental factors.

“While many people have retained optimism and a desire to have a more positive impact, the industry has a great opportunity to accelerate efforts to make those decisions easier for everyone,” said Danielle D’Silva, Director of Sustainability at Booking. .com, who insists that “it is important to continue guaranteeing the availability of the most sustainable options, but also that these are reliable and easy to understand. This is where we believe that increased awareness, clear and consistent standards and reliable third-party certification of legitimate sustainable practices across the entire travel experience can go a long way. “While signs of frustration among the public should be cause for concern, they also serve as a reminder to continue prioritizing work that can make a difference not just for travelers, but for communities and destinations around the world.”

Commitment with reward

Speaking of making a difference, more and more people are looking for more sustainable travel options that include rewards. This highlights the need to find a compromise between making conscious decisions, saving money and finding other motivations. Almost half (47%) want discounts and financial incentives to opt for eco-friendly options, while four in ten (39%) would be encouraged to travel more sustainably with reward points for making more sustainable choices, which they could use to get discounts or extra free benefits through online travel booking sites.

A demand that cities like Copenhagen are taking note of, which this summer announced a program, CopenPay, with which it will reward travelers who demonstrate their commitment to caring for the environment with free visits, meal tickets or cultural experiences. traveling by public transport or participating in garbage collection activities: the idea is that visitors who bring plastic waste to the National Gallery of Denmark can have access to a workshop where they can turn it into a work of art.

Ecotourism in one click

Enjoying nature in a respectful way and helping to conserve it is now easier than ever thanks to the Soy Ecoturista Getaways, which offer getaways that include accommodation, experiences and activities designed to connect visitors with the environment in some of the protected natural spaces. most spectacular in Spain. They combine the best of nature, culture, heritage, traditions and gastronomy with the added value that each reserve contributes to the conservation of these unique spaces, by supporting local communities and conservation initiatives.

There are four protected natural spaces that offer getaways that can be booked from the Soy Ecoturista platform: the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park, the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park, the Sobrarbe – Pyrenees Geopark and the Reserva de la Urdaibai Biosphere. “The Soy Ecoturista certified destinations are the perfect place to enjoy nature in its purest form and in a respectful way,” says Amanda Guzmán, manager of the Ecotourism Association in Spain. “By booking on the platform, you not only live an authentic ecotourism experience, but you also contribute to the conservation and recovery of these protected natural spaces and the sustainable development of local communities.”

Get involved in the local

Projects such as the one proposed by Rusticae, SAO Viajes Naturales and Clic Menorca delve into this development of local communities. ‘Get involved in the local’, a program funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU that seeks to facilitate the marketing of tourist experiences with sustainable, ecological, healthy or socially responsible values ​​of rural accommodation. The objective is to provide added value, mainly to agri-food producers, livestock farmers, farmers and artisans located in rural municipalities, for whom tourism can become an obvious alternative means of economic generation that increases their income. Thus, tourist experiences will clearly respect the natural environments on which tourist consumption occurs and will seek at all times the involvement and participation of the tourists themselves in said process.

“Uniqa” experience

This essential role that service providers have in mitigating environmental factors and that travelers demand is heard by travel experts such as Nuria Rodríguez de Llanos who, after more than thirty years in the wholesale travel sector, has created your own brand: ‘Uniqa Destinations’, that is committed to slow and local tourism. “We design responsible trips, a modality that is aligned with environmental sustainability, care for the environment, cultural preservation and the benefit of local communities,” says this expert for whom a responsible traveler must “adopt sustainable habits, such as not generating waste, choose transportation wisely to reduce carbon emissions or opt for eco-conscious accommodation, and take into account important issues such as never touching, playing with or feeding wild animals and avoiding attractions where they are exploited. Although it is important to support local communities, it must be done with care and caution, for this there are tools such as the WWF buyer’s guide. And, he points out that “above all, we must choose destinations that prioritize sustainability and preserve their natural heritage. All of this generates a change of consciousness when traveling that, without a doubt, will make each moment an experience as sustainable as ‘uniqa’.”