From Guest Blogger Devin Morrissey: 4 Eco-Friendly Tips to Reduce the Environmental Impact of Tourism

If you care about reducing your personal contribution to climate change, touring the world is a tricky proposition. There is no question that tourism has a profoundly negative impact on the environment. It leads to pollution through CO2 emissions and litter, as well as a number of other complications, like light and sound pollution.

Short of cancelling your trip, what can you do to minimize your impact on the areas you visit? While the tourism industry has seen eco-friendly advancements in the past few years, we all have a personal responsibility for reducing our impact. I struggled with finding the answer to this conundrum myself. However, after spending some time traveling, I’ve come up with a few tips for those who are interested:

Prepare by Packing Eco-Friendly Products

The first steps to having a responsible tour take place before setting foot out your door; it starts with packing eco-friendly products that will reduce the waste and pollution you will generate during your journey. This includes:

Using luggage made out of recycled materials. This can be a fun option to explore, since many manufacturers get creative with where they source their materials, from recycled airplane seats to plastic bottles.
Avoiding wasteful travel-sized products by opting for reusable BPA-free containers for carrying lotions, soaps, medications, and food.
Ensuring you do not bring products that can harm natural environments, like soap with plastic beads or sunscreens with oxybenzone.
Bringing and using your own (preferably biodegradable) utensils instead of using plastic ones.

Use Alternative Means of Transportation Whenever Possible

Because transportation is the single biggest cause of pollution from the tourism industry, it obviously behooves the environmentally conscious to explore their options. This can be a difficult suggestion to make, if only because each locale will have different options for transportation. Nevertheless, there are almost always more eco-friendly alternatives — you only have to look. For example, during a recent vacation to Vicksburg, MS, I was able to take in the sights through a bike tour on the Mississippi River Trail. The 18-mile trip was excellent exercise and a chance to connect with the local environment without creating excess carbon emissions. Wherever you plan to go, try to find similar options to reduce your contribution to local pollution.

Explore Solar-Powered Gear

Whether you are visiting main tourist attractions or exploring the natural beauty of an area, energy consumption is an issue to keep in mind. Keeping your phone charged and lighting your campsite may seem like relatively minor expenditures of energy — but, cumulatively, they can contribute to a large footprint.

Tech innovators in consumer electronics have some solutions to this problem. Solar-powered gear can reduce energy consumption considerably, and recent innovations give modern tourists more options than ever before. Here are a few examples of solar-powered gadgets that can help:

Solar Generators: Most travelers know the importance of keeping a power bank on hand. Solar generators, while bulky, are the perfect solution for those looking to use personal appliances and other equipment while on the road.
Solar-Powered USB Chargers: Devices like mobile phones and tablets, often used for navigation and entertainment, can become useless without a reliable source of energy. Solar-powered USB chargers are substantially more portable than full-blown generators, which is perfect for those touring in metropolitan areas.
Solar Lanterns: Every tourist needs easy access to a source of light. You need to be prepared, whether you will be traveling through the wilderness or visiting areas with limited access to electricity. Solar lanterns are perfect for either scenario.

Visit Areas of Local Ecological Interest and Spread Awareness

An unfortunate fact is that, no matter the steps you take to reduce your impact on the environment, tourism inevitably results in pollution. However, you can fundamentally change the trajectory of your trip for the better. Instead of walking the well-worn path by visiting standard tourist attractions in urban areas, you should consider exploring the natural beauty of a local area and helping to preserve it.

If you want to take your conservation efforts to the next level, consider practicing ecotourism — an alternative to standard mass tourism that involves visiting areas of local ecological interest, where the local wildlife is the main attraction. This focus may even influence your choice of destination. Your ultimate goal when practicing ecotourism is to support conservation efforts, improve the welfare of local people, and educate yourself. Taking part in these experiences will arm you with firsthand experience with conservation, which can bolster your voice during advocacy efforts.