At Hays Travel we work with responsible and sustainable tour companies to help provide you the opportunity to travel safe in the knowledge that you aren’t harming local people or the environment.
If you’re looking to travel more responsibly in the future, then you can help by following some simple guidelines. Before you travel, be sure to research the culture of the area you will be visiting, and how you can show respect. This can be as simple as etiquette with regards to haggling and bargaining at shops, or important religious customs and dress codes for sacred sites. Be aware that many religious sites will have a dress code, and may ask you to cover up. Obviously nobody expects perfect fluency from a tourist, but a knowledge of important phrases is polite and respectful and just a few key words can stretch a long way! Your tour guide will be on-hand to help, but tools such as Google Translate and Duo Lingo can make language learning an enjoyable as well as useful experience. If you want to truly experience somewhere, then buying and using local products is an excellent way to do so. Local restaurants and delicacies will help you understand the culture of your destination and their approach to food and drink. Pay attention to the culture of tipping and other social norms of politeness too! Littering and pollution not only ruin the visual appeal of a place, but they can be harmful and damaging to the environment too. Treat your destination with respect and be sure to use bins for any litter. If you’re an animal-lover, or an environmentally conscious traveller, then a good way to be responsible and ethical as you travel is to check in with animal conservation groups. There are some great charities and associations doing amazing things with endangered species such as gorillas, orangutans and bengal tigers. We work with several groups to provide these kind of sustainable experiences in our tours.
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Before you travel, be sure to research the culture of the area you will be visiting, and how you can show respect.
Photograph courtesy of Bob Pool / Shutterstock.com
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