{"id":7135,"date":"2022-02-24T18:13:38","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T18:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/?p=7135"},"modified":"2022-02-24T18:13:40","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T18:13:40","slug":"sustainable-travel-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/2022\/02\/24\/sustainable-travel-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"How Sustainable Travel Is Evolving In 2022 \u2014 And How To Do It Right"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The numbers are in. While the sustainable travel trend is nothing new, it\u2019s edging ever closer to the mainstream. According to recent booking data, travelers have begun thinking seriously about eco-friendliness, with 61 percent saying that the pandemic has made them want to travel more sustainably in the future. Meanwhile, Google reported a 70 percent rise in the number of people searching for sustainable travel options in 2021<\/a>. Finally, a recent Virtuoso study<\/a> revealed that younger travelers are becoming more and more aware of their impact on the destinations they visit. All of this adds up to one thing \u2014\u00a0sustainable travel is here to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As travel opens up this year, how can you be a more responsible and conscientious tourist in 2022 and beyond? We\u2019ve got a few easy sustainable travel tips.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Is Sustainable Travel?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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First, let\u2019s define our terms. Here\u2019s how the World Tourism Organization defines sustainable travel: \u201cTourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.\u201d In other words, it\u2019s not just <\/em>about reducing your carbon footprint \u2014 though that is obviously important. Sustainable travel is a wholistic approach to travel, tying together ecological, cultural, and economic concerns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tip #1: Get Off The Beaten Path<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Overtourism is one of the biggest threats to some of the world\u2019s most beloved destinations. What can you as a traveler do? Simply, seek out the places that are less popular (but often no less wonderful). By doing so, you\u2019ll reduce the burden on communities that are located close to so-called \u201cbucket-list\u201d spots, while spreading tourist dollars to other communities that could use them. A good resource for avoiding crowds is the aptly named website avoid-crowds.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tip #2: Buy Local <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Supporting local economies is a vital ingredient in a destination\u2019s ongoing success. By spending your dollars in locally owned restaurants and shops and on locally run tour packages, you\u2019re ensuring that these destinations will continue to thrive. It\u2019s also just a more rewarding way to travel. When you buy local, you\u2019ll be getting an authentic view of a place, discovering what makes it unique, and getting to know its culture. And isn\u2019t that what travel is all about? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tip #3: Use Efficient Transportation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Air travel isn\u2019t going anywhere, especially if you want to get to such favorite destinations like the Caribbean and Hawaii. But once you\u2019ve made it to your chosen vacation spot, try to use efficient transportation methods: buses, bikes, trains \u2026 or your own two feet! Exploring in this fashion isn\u2019t just eco-friendly; it can also expose you to sides of a destination you might never have encountered otherwise. If you do need to rent a car, be sure to inquire about hybrid or electric options<\/a>, which are becoming more and more common. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tip #4: Discover The Benefits Of Carbon Offset Programs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If flying is necessary to get to your vacation destination, consider taking advantage of carbon offset programs. These programs give travelers the chance to invest in carbon reduction projects that will neutralize the carbon footprint caused by travel. One of the best carbon offset resources is Atmosfair<\/a>, a non-profit organization that actively contributes to CO\u2082 mitigation by promoting, developing and financing renewable energies in over 15 countries worldwide. On the Atmosfair website, you can easily calculate your flight\u2019s emissions and find renewable energy programs to donate to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tip #5: Get To Know Sustainability Practices<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hospitality brands are developing new ways to be more eco-friendly \u2014\u00a0so it\u2019s good to become familiar with what efforts various brands are making. For example, Marriott<\/a>\u2019s Serve360<\/a>\u00a0is the brand\u2019s commitment to creating positive and sustainable impact in destinations throughout the globe. Notably, Marriott is working to reduce single-use plastics, a program that\u2019s expected to prevent about 500 million bottles annually from going to landfills. Hyatt<\/a>, meanwhile, is designing and operating more efficient, lower impact hotels, setting ambitious greenhouse gas emissions goals that line up with current climate science. Want to dig deeper? Google has begun offering sustainability information for hotels and resorts<\/a>, from waste reduction efforts to energy efficiency and water conservation measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reducing your carbon footprint is great \u2014 but it\u2019s just the beginning of the sustainable travel movement. Get the latest info and tips.","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":7140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4219,3872],"tags":[4220,3636,3603,3760,3793,3637,3839,3869,2867,3030,3641,3084,3722,3638,3726,3264,3684,4158,3853,3421,3535,3595,3852,3399],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-7135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sustainable-travel","category-travel-tips","tag-environmental-travel","tag-redweek","tag-redweek-rentals","tag-redweek-timeshare","tag-redweek-vacation","tag-redweek-vacation-rentals","tag-resort-rentals","tag-sustainable-travel","tag-timeshare","tag-timeshare-rentals","tag-timeshare-resorts","tag-timeshare-vacation","tag-timeshare-vacation-rentals","tag-timeshares","tag-travel-ideas","tag-travel-tips","tag-travel-trends","tag-travel-trends-2022","tag-vacation-deals","tag-vacation-ideas","tag-vacation-rentals","tag-vacation-rentals-by-owner","tag-vacation-sharing","tag-vacation-timeshare-industry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7135"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7142,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7135\/revisions\/7142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7135"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=7135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}