Sustainable travel is defined as finding a way that traveling can be maintained long-term without harming or ruining natural or cultural environments.
This type of traveling should aim to minimize the negative impacts tourism and travel can have on certain places in the world.
Sustainable traveling is about valuing and being grateful for the environment you are in and taking care of its natural resources.
Tourism has an extreme negative effect on some places and can have ever-lasting effects – and not the good kinds.
By being more conscious of your travels and choosing sustainable travel destinations, you can enjoy seeing the world, and feel good about your travels seeing as you aren’t damaging the world at all.
What is Sustainable Tourism?
The definition of sustainable tourism is ‘a way of traveling and exploring a destination while respecting its culture, its environment, and its people’. It’s common sense that trying to limit our carbon footprint while is super important, but not everyone knows how dangerous traveling can be to certain areas.
Sustainable travel is important because traveling the world shouldn’t only be fun for you, but it shouldn’t be harmful. We should all strive to travel in a way that benefits both us and our planet – we should make smarter decisions when traveling so we don’t disrupt the culture, the environment, and the locals of where you are visiting.
Now that we got the basics done, let’s talk about the most common and most sustainable travel destinations you can travel to in 2021. Being educated about these types of things is the most important thing you can for yourself and our planet.
12 Sustainable Travel Destinations for 2021
1. Costa Rica
Because Costa Rica has a lot of protected areas and is home to a lot of different wildlife species and plants, it makes it a great sustainable travel destination you should go to if you get the chance!
By visiting Costa Rica, you can experience their wide variety of natural habitats like their many rainforests, natural volcanoes, and their beautiful beaches.
There is also a wide range of economically conscious hotels that buy their products from local farmers.
2. Patagonia
If you are a nature and environmental enthusiast, you need to travel to Patagonia!
The views and landscapes here are unlike anything else you’ll ever see, from the glaciers, the mountains, the lakes, they have some of the best hiking trails ever.
If you love to be outdoors and do things that won’t have any negative effects on the planet, Patagonia is a great place to visit!
3. New Zealand
Enjoy an economically friendly stay at most hotels in New Zealand. This place has some of the most beautiful forests, mountains, and waterfront views you’ll ever see.
Most of New Zealand is part of the countries national park system, meaning that most of their land and water is protected – making it a super eco-friendly travel destination for 2021.
4. Galapagos Island
If you’re traveling here, it’s most likely because you want to help preserve the Earth and learn about the effects of climate control issues.
A large part of the Galapagos Islands belongs to national park systems where the land and waters are protected against hunters.
This island is one of the only islands that limits the number of travelers on the island at one time. If you want to travel here, you’ll have to plan way ahead of time!
5. Norway
Norway is one of the leaders in terms of sustainable travel destinations and tourism destinations. It has geothermal energy for heating and cooling pretty much all the hotels there, making it super eco-friendly to stay there.
The Norwegian Fjords are a prime tourism spot, but the best part is that a mass amount of tourists at this location won’t affect the environment or planet at all.
6. Peru
Peru is known for having a large number of natural reserves and protected land throughout its vast rainforests.
If you get the chance to travel to Peru, you NEED to visit the remote area in the Tampopata National Reserve – you can volunteer to help conservation projects and help their wildlife.
7. Iceland
Iceland is a beautiful place if you want to plan a sustainable travel experience.
Take a couple of days to explore their beautiful waterfalls, glaciers, hot springs, and much more. Iceland uses geothermal energy to power most of its electricity and they live a very eco-friendly lifestyle there.
8. British Columbia, Canada
If you’re a nature lover, you need to put this place on your bucket list. Offering a lot of beautiful outdoor views and scenes, getaway to this beautiful and feel good about your travels.
They use a lot of alternatives to transportation such as biking everywhere. You can even book eco-friendly tours with a local guide and they will show you all around Canada.
9. The Netherlands
Another great eco-friendly, sustainable travel destination you should put on your bucket list!
The Netherlands is a country within Europe that has made huge strides to become eco-friendlier and more sustainable. If you ever visit the Netherlands, you’ll notice that more people travel by bike than they do by car.
Not only is it because they want to reduce their carbon footprint, but it’s also actually the fastest way to get to your destination.
10. Vietnam
Looking to book your next sustainable travel destination? Try Vietnam! Enjoy a lot of biking and hiking through the beautiful city of Vietnam and enjoy their national parks.
Book a cycling tour throughout the city and learn about the city’s history, all while doing what’s right for our planet.
11. Borneo
Borneo is located southeast of the Malay Peninsula in the Greater Sunda Islands group of the Malay Archipelago and it’s a great sustainable travel destination.
This island makes it a priority to offer eco-friendly services such as tours, hikes, scuba diving, etc.
12. Botswana
If you’ve ever wanted to go on a safari tour that doesn’t trap animals in cages and you get to see them in their natural habitat, this is the place to go to!
This southern African country has banned hunting of all wild animals, and it allows its animals to roam fence-free.
The Botswana Tourism Organization words to offer tours and properties and promotes more sustainable travel options.
Our Final Thoughts
We love to see that travelers are becoming more conscious about the effects their travels can have on the world.
We’re here to educate you on what it means to be a sustainable traveler, and we hope you get the chance to visit some of the sustainable travel destinations!