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Geotourism: A Hot New Way
to Travel Green
When searching for ideas for your next vacation, you can find yourself overwhelmed with green travel possibilities. What a fantastic pickle to be in! One of the exciting new ecotourism options is geotourism. Geotourism, like ecotourism, is sustainable travel in that the manner of and at least some of the money from tourism sustains and/or enhances a destination's environmental and conservation efforts, but this new green travel aims to sustain the residents' aesthetic, historical, and cultural well-being as well. Now, I do want to raise one caution flag before you research and select your green travel plans. Because geo-, eco-, and voluntourism are growing in popularity, many tour operators will advertise that they subscribe to sustainable tourism. And they probably do, to some degree, but it's wise to do a little digging to discover how committed they really are to offering green travel. We have examined what
ecotourism
includes. Now, let's take a look at the bare bones elements of sustainable tourism and geotourism so that you can see how your potential tour operators measure up.
Sustainable Tourism Checklist
Integrity. Like it's name suggests, true sustainable tourism must respect and preserve the integrity of a location--basically, do no harm. This is a basic and unbreakable code in responsible travel. You may think, "Well that's easy. I would never want to harm a place I visit." But often, particularly in high traffic areas, too many tourists can cause more harm than good. Machu Picchu, for example, recently elected as one of the seven wonders of the modern world, is struggling with protecting its site with the busloads of travelers coming every hour to experience its magic. The government of Peru has already restricted the number of people who can be trekking the Inca Trail on any given day, but the busloads who motor up to the site will eventually take a physical toll on this Incan masterpiece.
Responsible Management. So, truly sustainable tourism means using operators and companies who limit and manage the number of tourists so that the environment, the natural habitats, the local culture and the way of life distinctive to a place is not burdened and destroyed for the sake of foreign visitors. There are three additional qualities to look for when choosing a tour operator:
Quality. Aim for quality over quantity. Indigenous communities benefit when visitors spend time in an area. Not only do we as tourists get to know and appreciate a culture that way, but our dollars are spent locally and have more of a positive impact on a community when we are there for some time rather than passing through on a tour bus.
Whenever I trek, I always hire locals as guides and support.
Conserve Resources. Even though we might be accustomed to showers whenever we want them, bountiful meals, manicured lawns, etc., in many countries, life is radically different. Tour operators and businesses who make it a point not to waste energy or water consumption and who minimize pollution and trash are folks we like to give our business to.
Cultural Education and Respect. When you first get to a new area, it's always a great idea to learn a few phrases in the local language--particularly please and thank you--and to learn the local etiquette. The last thing you want to do as a guest in their country is offend them with a gesture, phrase or action that may be innocuous to us but insulting to them.
Geotourism Perks
The beauty of geotourism is that while it respects and sustains a place and its people, when you geotour you get such a multidimensional sense of a place that you come away enriched in ways you would never know if you were simply passing through and staying in the Hilton. That's a superficial, check-it-off-the-list kind of experience. But geotourism gives you the opportunity to see, touch, taste, smell, and hear your destination, giving you an amazing sense of not only the physical place, but the people and their history, culture and cuisine.Heritage Appreciation. Geotouring gives us the opportunity to rediscover our own heritage as well as that of another people. In interacting with locals, they may find our customs and ways just as interesting as we find theirs, and it gives us an opportunity to equally share cultures and discover commonalities in the differences. Geotourism likewise seeks to sustain and celebrate indigenous people as they interact with tourists and become stewards of their history, present and future. Economy Building. Behind it all, of course, proper geotourism provides economic support for the local population and businesses by using locals instead of imported crew and companies, which gives visitors an authentic experience and benefits the local area and people at the same time. Depth of Experience. Ultimately, geotouring gives us an in-depth exploration of a place, one that you could never get from a guidebook or a bus tour, and it helps the local economy and environment. How could travel get better? If you're eager for a new way to travel... check out
voluntourism
as a way to add a greater purpose to your vacation.
Find Geotourism interesting? Check out Why Travel.
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