1: Having worked at first hand in Sri Lanka for a year following the tsunami I’m afraid that I am very dubious as to the merits of ‘voluntourism’. I worked for a charity set up in the wake of the tsunami and we handled a massive donation from the travel industry which financed the re-building of a nursery which is running strong to this day. Excellent work from the travel industry which got little publicity. It was financed entirely out of customers booking holidays. Volunteering is a great idea but in principle it often involves pretty much ‘fake’ work – with huge margins for the company involved. By ‘fake’ work I mean work that has been repeated over again (unfortunately very common at least in Sri Lanka), or labour type work that could be done far more cheaply and effectively by a local. Consider this: a days labour costs around £2.50 in Sri Lanka. A labourer would be glad of the work and it would put the money into the local economy. A tourist might feel good about doing the work, but would they really be contributing more than a £2.50 donation? I doubt it. The work can often be counter productive as it can build resentment among locals too – when they find out what people have paid to do these ‘tours’. I could go on – but some other time…. My point is that you need to add skills that can genuinely make a difference.
Also if you ask locals they tend to appreciate tourists coming and spending money in the normal way, but are deeply sceptical of volunteers (certainly true in Sri Lanka anyway). It sounds counter-intuitive, but I really think this is true.

One way to contribute though is by teaching English (a skill most if us can impart) or bringing your profession skills to bear. Look very very carefully at the company/charity you use. I know of stependous (in travel industry terms) mark-ups being made. Two excellent companies to look at are: http://www.vesl.org and http://www.skillsventure.com.. You will notice that these projects are medium to longer term. In my experience it has to be a longer term project on the whole – unless you have a very specific skill set.

My second point concerns cheap holidays. Some of the bigger companies are able to use their strength to leverage incredibly cheap package prices from their local partners. To be my certain knowledge (again in Sri Lanka) the local companies make most, if not all, of their profit by concentrating on commission revenue from tourist purchases. This has the affect of disenfranchising locals from the tourist model – as they see the money come in into the area – but see little or none of it, as the tourists are herded towards certain approved shops, the hotel takes their cut and the larger profits are made by the international tour operators. Very little money ‘trickles down’ to the local community – which is disproportionately affected by the social problems tourism can bring.

Book with smaller operators that work equitably with local companies and if you do use a large package operator – really try and get out and about – move around the country and spend money in local shops and restaurants as much as possible. Go independently, move around and explore both you and the host country will gain much more from your visit.

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Great post – and fantastic sentiments. NGT wholeheartedly supports all of those ideals and more, and there are a few reference points for others who want to be more thoughtful travelers.

National Geographic’s Center for Sustainable Destinations has been working with the international community to create a Geotourism Charter to promote best practices for the tourism industry – and for travelers as well. You can learn more about it here and look through their site for some other great resources on sustainable travel. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/sustainable/about_geotourism.html

And Traveler mag put out a list of 50 ways to travel sustainably – some of which you’ve already mentioned, but a lot of other great ideas as well:

http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/sustainable-travel-tips

It’s important to do our utmost to make the travel experience beneficial to all involved!

Janelle

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Brilliant comment! I wish I was sat there on those Greek Islands before us Brit tourists err ‘invaded’ them. Thats why when I visit the islands I prefer to stay in less touristy spots.

Thanks for commenting, great insight.

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I can remember sitting in a rustic taverna alongside a truly deserted sand beach in Laganas, Zakynthos listening to my Dad and Vic debate whether a couple of flights a week could ever spoil the islands. Looking around us we couldn’t conceive of how other than a few more villas and hotels being built here and there, how anything could really change. How wrong could we be?

However carefully it is managed, tourism will destroy local culture. There is no such thing as responsible tourism – you can try and control impact on the environment, but you can only try and minimise the damage for damage there most surely will be. The Greeks have been trying to protect the Turtles that once covered Laganas beach during the nesting season – despite best efforts there are but a handful remaining.

Damage from tourism is inevitable and it is just pie in the sky thinking that local culture and landscapes will remain unaffected. The world changes and no amount of responsible tourism guidelines can change that truth – as a species we always want more for less, which is why McDonalds prosper even in places where we are suppossed to know better.

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These tips are reassuring that there are ways to travel responsibly, anywhere. They are also something to think about when you are not traveling and in your hometown.

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