Promoting Sustainable Tourism

This is easy. You can check the sites of Sustainable Travel International or Stay Another Day on eco-friendly products and services in your target area. Guides will help you. But is that the best place to go in the country? Is it popular only because the one day tourist can see it easily or is it really a worthwhile place to visit? How can you support programs that will make life better not only for the top 1% but for the simple folks in the area.

Click this link to know more about Sustainable Travel International.

Occasions to go green start in your hotel. With towels and sheets. If you are staying longer, ask them to do your sheets and towels not every day but when they are ready for the laundry. Do the right thing around air conditioners, heaters, and other electronic gadgets. Turn them off when you go out. Better still, stay in hotels that have recycling programs well in place and abide with their guidelines.

Why buy the same thing you can get at home? You will help circulate money in the local economy and support or create jobs for local people. Patronize businesses that are not engaged in illegal trade and exploitation, the exploitation of humans, especially children and the looting of artefacts. Stealing peoples' heritage? Don't do it!

One of the illegal trades in Southeast Asia is on rosewood. Coveted for luxury furniture, cars, pens, yachts, loggers are ravaging Cambodia's forests for rosewood which can fetch them upwards of $7,000 - $15,000 per cubic meter.

Coastal cities and islands are now seeing the tourist dollars and so more islands and coastal areas are being developed in many countries all over the world. And in these places, paved highways, lavish resorts, seaside villas, spas, helicopter landing pads and golf courses are built. This dizzying pace are relocating local residents and driving them away from their livelihood. Of course, these developments also create jobs often filled by skilled recruits not from the islands. Coastal forests that have protected the islands from typhoons and soil erosion are gone. So are the mangroves that are important to the island's eco-system.

Tourist sites you visit may be visited by millions of people a year, so care needs to be taken to allow others to enjoy this as well. Take your litter with you and for heaven's sake, do you really want your name emblazoned on the walls or the caves or the sides of the mountain? Do you absolutely HAVE to take that picture of yourself on top of a monument especially when the signs say "NO"? These monuments and artifacts are so old and fragile that they are sensitive to the touch of hands or bags and shoes. For more information on this, go to Heritage Watch.

Often, we go on tours and retreat to our hotels for meals. Walk around, even if only in the streets closest to your hotel. Eat in local restaurants. Talk to the locals even with just your driver. Learn a few words in the local language and use it. You will surely get a smile from the hotel staff and street vendors. Challenge yourself. A step beyond your comfort limit each time you take a trip. You will be surprised at the the rich treasures stored in your memory.

Be discreet when people are praying in churches, mosques or temples. Wear appropriate clothing. Respect the silence and the restrictions placed on these sites. If you see a pile of shoes outside a place, take your own off. Don't be a doofus...think!

When you do this, you discourage the use of those plastic bags that fly all over many sites and foul the water and waste systems. Use this bag to carry some cookies to give to beggars and kids. Giving them money will just encourage dependency. If you really want to give, there are agencies you can donate to or where you can volunteer some of your time. This will surely be an experience especially in the more disadvantaged countries.

In-between the world famous Phuket and Krabi, Koh Yao Noi knew that tourists will not just stay in those developed places but will always venture out to their islands. And the tourists have come but the island is ready.

Koh Yao Noi is home to communities of Muslims, around 5,000 mostly fishermen and farmers, who want guests to their islands to dress properly, leave the corals and shells alone and not litter. The residents who first got engaged to stop poachers who exploit their marine resoources, eventually formed a club to manage the influx of tourist to their islands. They handle all aspects of tourism from tours to sightseeing to homestays.

Around 30 households in the island can accommodate up to 150 guests at a time. Guests who have stayed in the island consider this their secret escape and want this to remain so.

Ecotourism is on the rise as countries vie for tourist dollars and eco-tourism is attracting many tourists who want to make their travel more supportive of sustainability. In Cambodia, for example, there used to be only three communities doing this. Recently, the number have increased to more than 20. The development of ecotourism at the community level certainly contributes to socioeconomic growth with those in the remote areas included, poverty alleviation, expediting growth in facilities in remote areas, protection of indigenous species and traditional ways of life especially of ethnic minorities and biodiversity. However, it is not easy to organize community based eco-tourism. The list of challenges are listed below.