The Rise of Sustainable Tourism: Traveling Responsibly for a Greener Future

The Rise of Sustainable Tourism: Traveling Responsibly for a Greener Future

By Shruti Srivastava, Shikha Shah and Kunal Singh

Introduction
Picture this: You're sipping coconut water on a pristine beach, but instead of golden sand, you see ugly plastic waste washing ashore. This is the reality of mass tourism today. Even the remotest and unpopular travel destinations are facing repercussions of plastic waste.

The tourism industry generates 1.3 billion metric tons of waste annually, contributing to environmental degradation. It’s time to rethink how we travel. 
Sustainable tourism is no longer just an option—it's a necessity. But what does it mean, and how can travelers and businesses contribute to a greener future? Let’s dive in.

Problem with mass tourism:
While tourism is a major economic driver, it also has significant environmental consequences.

Here’s a closer look at some of the biggest challenges:
• Food waste: While traveling there are many food leftovers thrown by tourists, which directly goes into the landfill as mixed waste and leads to release of methane gas.
• Plastic waste: Tourists generate a lot of plastic waste, especially single-use-plastic amenities such as disposable utensils, packaging, toiletries, diapers, sanitary napkins and carry bags. Plastic is a non-biodegradable material, which can take 20-500 years to decompose depending on what kind of plastic it is.
• Chemical waste: Detergents and cleaning products used during laundry, housekeeping, and utensil washing leave chemical and micro-plastic residues in water bodies. 
• Textile waste: Travel and pressure of social media attention, creates unwanted textile waste, making most travelers buy cheap fast-fashion clothes that don’t last for a long time. And many times gets discarded after single-use only.
Electronic waste: When electronic waste like broken wires, chargers, pen drives, CDs, etc are lost or disposed off during travel, they end up releasing toxic chemicals in soil and water.

Energy waste: Travelling being promoted as an aspiration lifestyle for millennials, there is an excessive wastage of energy in travel by airplanes, cruises, cars and electricity consumptions in hotels and tourist spots.

What is Sustainable Tourism and why it matters?
Sustainable tourism is a framework that considers the economic, social, and environmental impacts of tourism and aims to balance these three dimensions for long-term sustainability. It is a simpler way to travel by reducing waste and ensuring environmental safety for locals and the future travelers.


Sustainable tourism is important because it promotes travel practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to enjoy the same experiences. 

Here are some key reasons why sustainable tourism is crucial:
Environmental Benefits
•    Conservation of Natural Resources: Helps preserve natural ecosystems, wildlife, and biodiversity.
•    Reduced Pollution: Encourages waste reduction and lower carbon emissions, especially around major tourist spots.
•    Sustainable Use of Resources: Promotes efficient use of water and energy resources.
•    Climate Change Mitigation: Supports eco-friendly transportation and renewable energy adoption.
Economic Benefits
•    Economic Growth: Boosts local economies by supporting local businesses and suppliers. It encourages diversification of income sources, reducing reliance on a single industry and promoting resilience.
•    Long-Term Viability: Ensures continuous revenue from tourism without depleting resources.
•    Community Empowerment: Strengthens local economies through community-based tourism initiatives and celebrates local traditions and heritage
Visitor Experience
•    Genuine cultural experience: Travelers enjoy genuine cultural interactions with local communities under natural ambiance, enriching their overall experience.
•    Viability for future generations: Sustainable practices ensure that tourist destinations remain attractive and viable for future generations.
Promoting Social Equity
•    Community Involvement: Encourages local communities to have a say in tourism development, ensuring their needs and rights are respected.
•    Reducing Over-Tourism: Helps manage visitor numbers to prevent overcrowding, ensuring equitable access and preserving the quality of life for residents.
Fostering Global Awareness
•    Education: Tourism can educate visitors about significant environmental and cultural issues, inspiring them to adopt sustainable practices in their daily lives.
•    Global Cooperation: It fosters international collaboration in addressing global challenges like climate change and resource scarcity.

How the Hospitality Industry Can Drive Change
1. Using eco-friendly toiletries made of material that is reusable, durable or biodegradable. Replacing plastic toothbrushes, razors, earbuds, tongue cleaners, etc with bamboo toiletries packaged in compostable kraft paper.

2. Replacing plastic room slippers and laundry bags with reusable ones such as cotton or bamboo.

3. Educating travelers to reuse towels and linens for as long as possible, in order to save water and pollution caused by chemical detergent.

4. Installing big wall-suspended dispensers for shampoo, soap and conditioner in bathing areas.

5. Replacing plastic water bottles with glass bottles and adding water dispensers at multiple locations to refill water bottles.

6. Using reusable or biodegradable cutlery/straws/food packaging such as stainless steel instead of use-and-throw plastic ones.

7. Installing separate bins for dry, wet and e-waste.

8. Educate and chose vendors to supply material in minimal and plastic-free packaging.

9. Educate staff and hold zero-waste events during festivals and event celebrations.

10. Recommending local eateries and shopping points to travelers to boost the local economy and reduce carbon footprint.

11. Setting up of sustainable souvenirs stores in hotels and cities for travelers to shop.

12. Selling reusable water bottles made of material such as stainless steel, copper, bamboo, or high-quality plastic at tourist places instead of single-use plastic water bottles.

Zero-waste and sustainable stores such as Scrapshala: A Sustainable Travel Solution

Many Indian touristy cities now have a couple for zero-waste and sustainable stores where one can explore a wide variety of products from daily essentials to souvenirs and unique gifting options.

One such store is Scrapshala, in Varanasi, one of the oldest living cities in the world, also called Kashi or Banaras. Scrapshala is headquartered in Varanasi and has their flagship store in the heart of the city, near assi ghat area.

Scrapshala offers innovative range of products that one can pick as a person who wants to travel sustainably and loves gifting.
Our sustainable travel and lifestyle related products are innovatively designed ensuring comfort of use and carrying around.
Some best travel essentials by Scrapshala are nano bamboo toothbrushes, zero-waste travel kits, safar range of travel bags and pouches, diaries and travel journals, mobile holders and bamboo sound amplifiers and upcycled tote bags.

The Future of Sustainable Tourism
Awareness of sustainable tourism is rapidly growing, driven by environmental concerns, consumer demand for ethical travel, and global initiatives like the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 
Governments, tourism-related businesses and NGOs are promoting eco-friendly practices through policies, certifications, and campaigns, while travelers are seeking responsible travel options like carbon offsetting, community-based tourism, and plastic-free alternatives. 
Social media has also played a key role in educating tourists and highlighting sustainable travel destinations. However, challenges like over-tourism, greenwashing, and cost barriers for sustainable alternatives still persist. 


Despite this, trends like slow travel and local tourism continue to gain momentum, fostering a collective effort to make tourism more sustainable and impactful.

Data sources:
https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/benefits-of-sustainable-tourism

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666957923000058

https://maldivesfinest.com/trash-island

https://www.mycompanyisgreen.org/keep-your-bed-linens-for-more-than-1-night-in-a-green-hotel/

https://the-shooting-star.com/sustainable-tourism-india/

https://greenfeels.in/blogs/sustainability-basics/eco-friendly-hotels-in-india

https://scrapshala.com/collections/storage-zip-pouches

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1 comment

very fruitful knowledge about sustainable tourism

Shruti

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