Our travel
Prior to the Covid pandemic it was predicted that by 2020 an estimated 1.5 billion people will travel each year. However as airports, trains, buses and cars ground to a halt across borders, what will travel look like?
People became more mindful of contributing to their own travel industries, local towns, and coastal resorts to revive local economies. So we have actually all started on the journey of travelling responsibly in our own back yards.
Travel has become another global commodity costing us all more and forcing many to stay closer to home. Short travel windows during Covid in countries meant local citizens were discovering the beauty of their own territories.
What can we all do to be more sustainable travellers?
Non-polluting daily travel
Our mode of travel usually contributes CO2 to the atmosphere.
The Covid-19 pandemic over 2020 and 2021 has seen a reduction in land and air transportation. However, it is expected to rise again once borders reopen and the world is able to interact with one another.
Technology for greener vehicles has existed for some time, but the difficulty lies with city planning and how vehicles may be charged.
For taking short journeys wherever we live there are alternative forms of transportation.
Practicing responsible tourism
Since the COVID-19 pandemic deprived many of us from travelling, we have become more mindful of exploring our local areas and territories, and thereby supporting local businesses.
Perhaps this will help us think about how we travel responsibly when we go elsewhere in the future.
So what is responsible tourism?
Put simply its using common sense. Being socially and culturally aware of people and environments when travelling, celebrating and not undermining local cultures and traditions, and understanding how we can limit, or avoid, the environmental damage of our travel footprint.
Some countries have also invested in greener tourism options, often supplemented by electrified, integrated public transport systems, creating smart cities, and also promoting wider responsible tourism.
Future cities' transportation
Many cities around the world have invested in green forms of travel and public transport. find out what your city has done, and plans to do, and ask for more!