Travel Tip of The Week: This Earth Day 2019, Pledge to be an Eco-friendly Traveler With These Steps

The world has innumerable places to explore and more and more tourists are venturing to explore the unexplored. But as people's love for travel continues, the once beautiful spots are unfortunately losing their charm. With commercial tourism on the rise, the earth's beauty is dying slowly. Just fuelling the desire to travel isn't enough, but being responsible and worthy for the planet which offers us so much is also important. April 22 is celebrated world over as the Earth Day, which calls upon the need to promote environmental protection. The coral reefs are dying, the forest covers vanishing, endemic species are no more seen, wild animals spotted in safaris are reducing and some tourist places are now gone forever. But we as travellers can change or at least prevent the worse, by promising to be eco-friendly travellers. And embarking on an eco-friendly journey can become a habit if we take care of some simple things. We give you a list of things you can do to become an eco-friendly traveller. 5 Ways in Which You Can be A Responsible Traveller.

How to be an Eco-friendly Traveller?

Choose an eco-friendly destination: You can get an exact idea of what an eco-friendly trip is about if you choose a destination that promotes everything green. The lifestyle here is slightly different, the way they cater to the guests and locals living their life in a sustainable way has a lot to learn from. So choose a destination that promotes the 'go green' way of life and we are sure you'll return with more insights about not just one destination but the entire planet.

Pack right and pack light: Don't overstuff your bag with clothes that you think you might need. In fact, learn to pack light and reuse your clothes on the trip. Don't get back loads of laundry, but utilise what you have. Don't unnecessarily carry polythene bags to get extra stuff. Even if you go out shopping, urge the shopkeeper to keep cloth and paper bags. How to Pack Lighter and Smarter For a Short Business Trip.

Choose public transport at all times: One of the very important ways to be an eco-friendly traveller is to choose public transport. Try accessing your destination via public modes of transport. Walk it up a bit or try hitchhiking but refrain from booking private cars for exploring places. Trek up or cycle around, figure out how you can reach a place without a private vehicle. You'll have a better story to tell about your journey.

Plan eco-friendly activities: Every tourist destination will have a variety of activities to choose from like scuba diving, kayaking, night trails, etc. Choose if you can opt for something more eco-friendly, like hiking or stargazing. Rather than taking quadbike rides or water sports, try exploring the beaches on foot.

Ditch the bottle: One of the easiest ways to go eco-friendly is carrying a reusable water bottle. Carry a larger bottle, which can get a bit heavier, but at least you'll not spend on buying water bottles and also reduce the plastic waste. Not just on your travel, but also in your regular life, use a non-plastic water bottle.

Treat your hotel as your home: A lot many times, we use the facilities available in hotels at our leisure. We tend to leave the bathroom lights on, use extra water, demand change of towels, leave the toiletries half used. But the outlook needs to change. Start thinking of hotel rooms just like your home. Don't let your habits change in hotels because you've paid money. Be a responsible traveller and behave just like you'd do at your home.

Go local: Try and embrace the local way of living rather than choosing to be fancy tourists. It will not just give you a better understanding of the culture, but reduce your carbon footprint. Instead of choosing to dine at fancy places, try going for home-cooked food and homestay experiences.

These are some of the ways in which you can considerably reduce your carbon footprint while you are on the go. More than making memories, it will give you the satisfaction that you have travelled way more eco-friendly than before. While we continue to make plans of exploring more of this beautiful planet, we should also take responsibility for preserving it.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 21, 2019 10:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).