As you begin to book vacations again, take a moment to pause and think about one question: Where am I spending my travel dollars?
Traveling may seem like a fun and laid-back experience, but how you travel and with whom you spend your travel dollars can change the world for the better. All it takes is a bit of mindfulness.
Think about this: When you spend money on companies and individuals in the travel industry with green-friendly practices, diverse leadership and responsible business practices that benefit local communities, you're doing something good for the world. Simply booking a vacation can benefit more than yourself - if you're mindful about where you spend your money.
Spending your money on travel companies that do positive things for the world and the people who live in it provides positive reinforcement to these companies to continue to do good things, as well as signals to other travel companies to follow suit and employ better practices or initiatives.
So how do you spend your travel dollars where it matters? It takes a little bit of research on the company and its positive initiatives before you book. Here are a few things you might think about when researching which travel companies to book with:
Travel Advisors
If you don't know how to research a travel company's ethical policies or find out if they're giving back to communities and projects that you support, consider hiring a travel advisor. These professionals know how to find that information and can book an ethical trip - from your flight to your hotel, tour guide and transportation.
If you'd like to take your do-good traveling a step further, hire a Black, Indigenous or person of color (BIPOC) as your travel advisor. BIPOC travel advisors have long been at a disadvantage in the travel industry and supporting their businesses will do more good than you realize. Not only does it signal to the travel industry that diverse voices matter, but you'd also be supporting a small BIPOC business.
Hotels
When booking a hotel, there are a few things to consider. If the hotel is a locally-owned bed-and-breakfast or property, your booking will be helping a small business owner and the local economy of that destination to flourish. Of course, there's nothing wrong with booking a chain hotel, but do your research and see how the chain hotel uses your travel dollars. Are they hiring more diverse people in leadership? Do they have a work program that helps indigenous communities? Do they partner with gender equality non-profits or provide consistent donations to local efforts?
Thanks to travelers who have spent their money on eco-friendly properties, the popularity of green hotels are more commonplace across the world. Hotels with LEED-certification, green practices that reduce the washing of towels and sheets, water conservation efforts, recycling programs and locally-sourced food products aim to minimize the impact on the destination's environment, and that's always a good thing to support.
Airlines and Cruises
Airlines and cruises are not the most eco-friendly form of travel, and they do create pollutants that harm the world. Having said that, many airlines and cruise companies are making efforts to be better and protect the environment.
For instance, Hurtigruten is notorious for its sustainability policies, scientific research initiatives and the production of a hybrid fleet of ships that will minimize the impact on the environment. Similarly, JetBlue launched a program that will offset the carbon emissions on all domestic flights starting in July.
Still, other airlines and cruise companies have programs in effect that hire more female pilots and captains or work to make travel more inclusive of the LGBT+ community.
The power that you have as a travel consumer is far more than you might imagine.
Spend your money wisely and show the travel industry that changing the world you want to explore matters - and it should matter to them too.
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