As we celebrate World Tourism Day on September 27th, it’s the perfect opportunity to consider how to travel more sustainably. With great happiness gained from exploring new destinations comes great responsibility to protect those places and people.
Research shows leisure travellers who holiday a few times per year report being 7% happier than non-travellers. Discovering different cultures and perspectives explains travel’s mood-boosting power, but how can we ensure the tourism rands we invest actually benefit residents instead of exploiting them? The key is mindful travel.
When we make sustainable choices, our tourism supports better futures for local communities.
This World Tourism Day, Kate Powell, General Manager: Sales & Marketing for the Zambezi Queen Collection, shares some great insights on how you can boost the environment (and your happiness) while you travel.
Support Local Economies
– Carry local currency to shop unique handmade crafts and art that provide livelihoods to residents.
– Book tours, lodging and dining with operators who hire and source locally, like the Zambezi Queen Collection, which employs roughly 150 people from local villages.
– Seek farm-to-table restaurants that employ regional chefs and use area-grown ingredients. For example, Ichingo Chobe River Lodge sources fresh, seasonal produce directly from its vegetable garden.
Choose Eco-Conscious Destinations
– GreenDestinations.org highlights sustainable locales actively protecting the planet through green initiatives.
– Visiting during off-peak seasons spreads economic benefits more evenly versus high tourist seasons prone to over-tourism. While the Chobe River is not currently prone to over-tourism, travelling ‘offpeak’ during the green season hugely benefits locals as it brings year-round benefits. Travellers also enjoy lower green season rates.
Travel Responsibly
– Save paper by storing documents and tickets digitally on your phone vs. printing.
– Offset air travel’s carbon emissions by choosing airlines with carbon-neutral programs. And in Africa, remember that travel and tourism are vitally needed.
“Any future traveller to Africa [needs to know] that the carbon footprint created by their flying is a small necessity in comparison to the vast good that their travels are doing via the revenues and jobs generated,” says Colin Bell of the Conservation Action Trust. “Increasing tourist arrivals to Africa and supporting suppliers who are doing great work on the front line in conservation and reducing their carbon footprints goes hand in hand,” he says.
Shift Focus to People Over Places
– Volunteer with community development projects to donate your time and skills.
– Interact respectfully with residents versus treating them like attractions.
– Support conservation efforts protecting wildlife and habitats.
Travel Deeper
– Have meaningful conversations with locals that foster cross-cultural understanding.
– Journal about your experiences to process and integrate lessons learned.
The Zambezi Queen Collection sets a beautiful example for immersive and sustainable travel along the Chobe River. You can enjoy an unforgettable mindful river safari knowing that you’re positively contributing to responsible travel and that your visit makes a meaningful difference in the region.
This World Tourism Day, challenge yourself to travel deeper by forging bonds across cultures. When tourism uplifts communities, travellers and destinations both prosper. The Zambezi Queen Collection’s mindful approach shows how we can protect people and places when we keep humanity at the very heart of our journeys.