When planning your round the world trip, the biggest issues on your mind will most likely be: where should I go, how long should I travel for, what should I do, and how much money do I need for my trip? But an equally important though often overlooked consideration is how you can make sure that your presence doesn’t negatively impact an area, eco-system, or culture.
RTW travelers often stretch their travel dollars by spending more time in cheap countries to visit, but few give much thought to how their dollars are being spent and if they are actually helping or hurting the destinations they are visiting. Though these developing countries are inexpensive to visit, many also suffer for social and environmental problems that can be exacerbated by well-meaning but clueless tourists. That why, when it comes to how to travel guilt-free in developing nations, the best thing you can do is to get educated. Find out what issues the local people and environment of a place are facing and how tourism is affecting it. Choose tour companies, businesses and services that put money back into the community rather than use the money to line the pockets of a multi-national corporation. Make sure local guides are paid an honest wage, and choose volunteering opportunities that contribute to a long-term solution rather than a quick fix to the area’s problems.
Another way to make sure you’re doing more good than harm on your travels is to avoid giving money to people on the street. You may think you are helping, but by giving to beggars you are actually encouraging that behavior. Instead, donate to organized charities that can put the money to better use helping more people.
No matter where you go on your travels, your presence has an impact on the people and place you are visiting. Make sure than impact is a good one by traveling responsible and protecting the world you are exploring on your trip.
Photo by vinylmeister