Understanding environmental tourism ahead of spring break – The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Ivy Secrest is the Arts and Culture Reporter
March 9, 2022

Spring break is, without doubt, the most important part of college life. Many students take advantage of spring break to escape the stress of the spring semester.

Many students do not think about how they travel and the impact it has on the environment. They aren’t the only ones responsible; many people don’t realize how their vacations could impact the communities they visit.

Tourism is responsible for about 8% of the world’s carbon emissions, according to Sustainable Travel International Within that 8%, nearly half of tourism’s overall footprint comes from transportation alone. Students could reduce climate change by choosing to travel sustainably.

Climate change is real and we must be aware of how our travel impacts climate change. Ryan Finchum,o-director of Warner College of Natural Resources Center for Protected Area Management, in email correspondence.

When traveling more sustainably, there are several things you should keep in mind. Students and faculty can both consider how they get there. Can you carpool with an electric car? Are there any opportunities to offset carbon emissions for your flight? Or take more direct flights. What other activities are you involved in? Do they contribute to the environment and the local community? Finchum stated that all of these issues should be considered when planning a trip.

Finchum stated that it is impossible to ignore the fact that using fossil fuels to get to point A and B will contribute to a negative aspect of our trip.

Your vacation choices can have a significant impact on the local community. Participating in tourism is not a way to inherently boost the economy of a community, even if it’s volunteer tourism or ecotourism.

A lot of times when we travel, we like to think our money benefits the community,” saidSuzanne Kent, an associate professor and sociocultural anthropologist at Colorado State University. “In order for it to do that, we have to support local businesses rather than foreign corporations.

Traveling with the environment’s and community’s needs in mind isnt as hard as it may seem. There are many options available for those looking to travel in meaningful ways.

Ecotourism incorporates experiencing and learning about nature while being “ethically managed to be low-impact, nonconsumptive and locally oriented,” according to The Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

Finchum said that ecotourism is more a goal than an actuality.

Volunteer tourism, also called “voluntourism,” combines some form of volunteering with tourism and ideally benefits the community.

When done correctly, alternatives like ecotourism and volunteerism can be extremely beneficial.

Kent stated that there are many issues to be aware of: displacement of local laborers, children being placed in unstable situations with volunteers in orphanages, and the possibility of money being gathered for profit instead of for the benefit the community.

If theyre there volunteering, it suggests there’s a need, and I think its important for volunteers to engage with the question of, ‘Why is there this need?’ Kent said.

Kent said that students should spend their breaks volunteering. Kent suggested that they do some research and consider why they are needed. Voluntourism is noble, but sometimes it is just what you need to take a break from all that work.

Kent stated that people need breaks. A good program of voluntourism is not a break. “You’re there to work, you’re there to learn and sometimes you’re there to engage with things that are discouraging and to engage with things that are not uplifting.”

“Whichever one of those (voluntourism or tourism) a person does, though, they can be deliberate and strategic about their impact,” Kent said. “Because whether youre a voluntourist or a tourist, you have an impact. I think it’s more about thinking about your impact and being thoughtful.

Students often set the trends for the next decade. If you look at Generation Z people born between late 1990s and early2000s, you will see trends of vegetarianismClimate activists and their support Greta ThunbergIt is evident that Gen Z is concerned about the environment.

Finchum said that the industry of travel and tourism has created a great opportunity to collaborate across generations.

Although it is unlikely that students will give up their spring break plans to volunteer, they can change how they view travel to better reflect the environment and the communities they visit.

Reach Ivy Secrest at [email protected] or on Twitter @IvySecrest.