Виноградова Елизавета, 402/1

We've loved holidays abroad ever since we've had enough time and money to go on
a trip. Travel is an amazing thing on an individual level – seeing wonderful places,
exposing yourself to new cultures. And anything that helps people to be more open-
minded can only be a good thing.

But nowadays it’s not a secret that tourism can also cause serious problems, such as
loss of cultural heritage, economic dependence, and ecological degradation. For
instance, the average luxury hotel room uses 1,800 liters of water per day. To put this
into context the average Canadian uses 329 liters of water per day. That's just the
average. Several tourist attractions also lack basic waste and recycling systems. The
effects of climate change are also putting the world's most visited destinations at risk.
By 2050 climate change could directly lead to the extinction of 30% of species, 90%
of coral reefs and almost half the Amazon rainforest. Learning about the impacts of
tourism has led many people to find more responsible holidays.

While the industry will never be fully sustainable there are steps we can take to
protect the planet. To my mind, the best way to promote sustainable tourism is to lead
by example. When it comes to raising awareness of an issue, it’s always good to take
a look at what actionable steps we can take as individuals. And here are some of them.

Firstly, you can book a nonstop flight if possible. Thus you help to reduce the
planes carbon emissions which are generated mostly from taking off and landing

Secondly, if you plan to stay in a hotel, choose a place that holds itself to high
environmental standards and ask the management to share their sustainability policy.
Or, if you want to gain some fresh experience, you can choose local places to stay,
that way you help a greater portion of the profits to stay in the community.

The third step to make your holiday more sustainable is to have a meal in
restaurants that are run by locals and support their small businesses. Supporting local
restaurants usually means locally sourced ingredients and it is a great way to meet
locals who are enthusiastic about you trying their traditional food.

If you have to purchase souvenirs try to buy unique local handcrafted items and
avoid imported souvenirs that have a larger carbon footprint. That’s also a kind of
support to locals.

In conclusion I’d like to say that the steps above are only a tiny part of measures
we can implement to enter sustainable tourism. If we are good tourists, we try to make
wherever we go a little better during our visit, or at the very least to leave it the same
as when we arrived. We don't have to sacrifice our holidays to do this. In fact, it can
even add real pleasure and a unique twist to our experience. That’s what about
sustainable tourism is.