Sustainable Tourism in the Covid Era

Sustainable Tourism in the Covid Era

By Xander Smith, age 17

With the distribution of millions of vaccines throughout the world, the beginning of the end of the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have begun. Because of this, many people are starting to feel more comfortable to travel abroad again and are planning summer getaways. However, in order to make sure beloved locations are able to endure an influx of tourists, we need to remember to travel sustainably. 

Sustainable tourism is the act of traveling somewhere while making little-to-no impact on the environment and local culture, and a positive impact on the local economy. This can be seen as staying in a locally-owned Airbnb and eating at locally-owned restaurants opposed to staying at a large resort owned by a big corporation.

This becomes much more complex however when Covid is involved. Each country has responded to the pandemic in different ways and are currently at different stages of recovery. Thus, it is vital to only travel to countries where the Covid situation is under control. Every country has their own guidelines for international travel so it is important to look those up before booking a trip. For example, Iceland is currently open to all tourists who have proof of being fully vaccinated, opposed to Japan which has specifically banned all British travelers until further notice. 

After understanding the guidelines and restrictions relating to Covid for each country, we need to go one step further in order to travel sustainably. The tourism industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world according to Forbes, and it is the unfortunate truth that not everyone cares about the environment. So, those of us who love to travel must go above and beyond by taking measures such as: road tripping instead of flying, taking public transportation instead of renting a car, doing environmentally-friendly activities, and supporting local businesses in the area. 

As a lover of culture, nature, and travel, I am more than excited to get back out and explore the world. But doing that comes with a responsibility that I, and other travellers have to handle in order to visit amazing places without harming the local or global environment. So as you begin to travel this summer, always keep in mind the ways to do so sustainably. 

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