I found myself having a vigorous debate the other week on twitter after responding to a tweet from @Simoncalder about how Qatar were giving away free flights to teachers. After responding to say that I would be applying, another responder commented that teachers should be leading by example and NOT FLYING and should be a responsible and sustainable travelers! I tried to explain (mainly in vain) the concept of sustainability and that by just cutting off the aviation industry we are probably doing more harm than good and in fact flight is only part of the equation to a more sustainable future.
We have seen with covid the massive impact the lack of travel is having on society and economies of the world. Ok so we can reduce our carbon footprint by not flying but the idea of sustainable travel is that it should minimise the negative impacts of tourism but be beneficial to the area in which it takes place today and in the future, so being so simplistic and saying “stop flying now” it is just not going to fly. If we just look at tourism it is clear that it i especially important to many of the poorest economies of the world who rely on the industry for an income and for an improvement in their quality of life.
In fact when looking at carbon output today’s modern planes are super efficient and (so i was told by a pilot on a easyjet flight from Spain) a full planes releases less CO2 per Km per person than a car with 4 people in. The world is now globalised and interconnected and this is so much for the better as the spread of ideas and culture has led to huge improvements in such things as medicine and technology. Areas that were once another world away are a short hop on a plane and that leads to benefits all round.
In fact tourism income is incredibly beneficial to the host country and it’s population. Tourism generated income such as tax can be used on a national and local level to improve education, improve infrastructure, to fund conservation efforts, and to promote more responsible tourism. If we stop flying this is GONE and so is the opportunities of a better life for many millions of people. And then there is the benefits to the world with travel teaching us about other cultures and in doing so making us more tolerant and more accepting of difference.
I am not saying that flying is good for the environment or that climate change does not exist. As a teacher of Geography I am firmly in the climate change camp. However the Russell-Smiths love to travel and the benefits we have experienced are why we going away again and again. We might fly but we certainly travel with sustainability always at the center of what we do.
The main way we do this is by always thinking local.
- Stay local – stay in small family run hostels and hotels. Avoid the chains. Foreign owned hotels bring little benefit to local areas with all the profits being sent back to the parent country such as the US or UK. food and drink and resources are often imported in and local produce is ignored increasing the carbon footprint of the hotel.
- Eat local – Eat in small local restaurants. Don’t eat in the big chains. a. you will get a more authentic local meal and b. you are far less likely to get food poisoning from a busy Hawker than a large chain restaurant. again the food is often also local so few air miles!
- Travel local – use small local companies or even a local taxi driver to travel around. Again avoid the big international companies if you can. If safe fly with the local airlines again meaning all your money stays in the country and so improves its economy. Also plan your travel in advance. do you have to make the same journey more than once?
- Buy local – you will no doubt want some souvenirs. Make sure then you shop at the local market and not at the airport. often many are hand made by locals and again use local resources and materials.
- Use local guides – Why have a guide from the UK to take you round the sites when you can have a english speaking local who really knows their stuff and again that money stays and is spent locally improving the local economy.
- Live like a local. Make sure you are culturally sensitive. find out before what is taboo and stick to it. You also want to make a good impression about your culture and nationality.
Don’t get me wrong we are not perfect and yes we can 100% do better. We are always trying. We all have responsibility to travel responsibly and sustainably because we want these places to be here for us, our children and their children in the future.
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Family Russell-Smith Travel 