The pandemic has led travellers to develop a more sustainable approach to travel. Eco travel, also known as sustainable or green travel, is fast becoming a hot commodity for guests venturing abroad, with travellers making strides to save the environment one trip at a time.
Prerna Prasad, the founder of Ecoplore, a booking platform for eco-friendly hotels, fell in love with eco travel during a trip to Rishikesh in India when she was 22.
“It was never intentional to start an eco travel journey. It happened purely by chance. We spent three days in the city and stayed in a tent owned by locals. We went trekking and river rafting. Everything was so mesmerising. The local guides were environmentally sensitive and made a conscious effort to ensure there wasn’t any litter during our treks,” she said.
Prasad gradually became more knowledgeable about eco travel and incorporated more of it into her trips.
She started Ecoplore to make ecotourism more accessible to travellers.
“We want to promote sustainable ways to travel and show guests how small eco-friendly changes can make a difference to their journey,” she pointed out.
Though there are misconceptions about eco travel, Prasad advises individuals to plan their trip own before making assumptions.
“Taste the flavour of sustainable travel once, and I assure you would not want to return to conventional travel,” she added.
Costas Christ, the brand leader of Beyond Green and president of Beyond Green Travel, said travellers need to question how they could make sustainability the new normal during their trips.
“The question is no longer whether we can transform travel based upon sustainable tourism principles and practices, which can be a powerful force for saving nature, regenerating ecosystems, and providing tangible social and economic benefits to local people.
“Rather, the most important question is how travellers can help make sustainability the new normal around the world while also having a great vacation. The answer is when we travel the sustainable way, we can have a positive impact right now on the places we visit," he said.
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