Sustainable Travel
Sustainable Travel seems to be the new travel buzzword for travel in 2025, with travellers wanting deeper and more immersive or authentic travel. But in spite of this growing trend, there is still a lot of confusion over what sustainable travel actually means. When we throw into the mix the number of travel suppliers making false or misleading claims about their “green credentials” or greenwashing, it can be quite difficult for travellers to pick genuinely sustainable options.
Perhaps the first issue to get out of the way is to consider whether travel can be sustainable. For those of us in the UK, we are on an island and so travel will in most cases involve taking a flight. Of course we can take a train, which would be better for the environment, but for most of the destinations to which we are travelling, trains will limit our choices significantly.
We can offset the carbon used in our flights, but carbon offset schemes are no substitute for not spewing out the carbon in the first place. And in most cases, carbon offsetting schemes are simply a gesture without being a real equivalent.
But if we accept that our flight is going to be a significant contributor to the damage being caused to our environment, perhaps it is all the more important to make choices that reduce our impact on the destination to which we are travelling, or even better, can contribute to the destination to which we are travelling.
Increasing Knowledge in Sustainable travel
It can be difficult to separate out the truth from the myth, the well meaning from the downright dishonest when it comes to sustainable travel and how to deliver it as a supplier or to experience it as a traveller.
Sustainability is not achieved in one step, but gradually. And this is achievable for most of us if we simple decide to travel better this year than we did last year, every year.
For me as a travel consultant, the first step was to acquire some knowledge and experience of what sustainable travel means in practice, and how to distinguish between the genuine and the greenwashing,
The start was to take the Global Sustainable Travel Council’s course and exam in sustainable travel.
It is a four week course covering
· Effective sustainable tourism management
· Socio-economic impacts and local benefits
· Protecting heritage and promoting community benefits
· Resource Management and Environmental conservation
Apart from studying the course material, I read, and continue to read widely around the subject, because the learning process is a continuing one.
The second stage was to book myself into the Bridges for Conscious Travel conference held in New Delhi in April 2025
