Must-Visit Summer Travel Destinations: Blogger Bejal Gosai Shares Top Tips for Sustainable Travel — Women Who Win

Following the interest of sustainable and responsible tourism and lifestyle hacks on my website , coupled with the priority in the state of the planet and the timely Cop 21 conference, I decided to launch #be-laviegreen on my Instagram channel. The inspiration mainly came from the confusion that many people have with sustainability issues including the lack of understanding with the disparity of information out there and through green washing into the mix and it becomes a complete pot of mass confusion. #be-lavie green is a friendly space for us to learn together about how we can make small changes in our lifestyles without making a huge life shift which may not be so maintainable and thus not helpful to the planet. For example if you’re a meat eater, there’s no need to go vegan but instead cut out meat a couple of times a week or go veggie on these days instead. Each week I research a topic and present it in bite-size slide format carousels and my audience are encouraged to engage, comment and discuss and share ideas. There’s no judgement on where people are in their green practices, just a place to be made aware of all things that you thought were green, really green with examples and suggestions.

2. You are passionate about Sustainable and Responsible travel. What inspired this passion? What are some travel destinations you have visited that are leading the way in sustainability?

When I was at school, I read the book Mind & Body by Anita Roddick (the founder of The Body Shop) which inspired me to appreciate and look at the world from a different perspective. The use of natural ingredients in products and how the destruction of the planet, its flora and fauna being displaced as well as the fair treatment of people who work in the product supply chain. I wanted to see first-hand the global issue of man’s greed and possession over the planet, and how we can help regain some respect for our surroundings. My passion for travel started at this point but ultimately I’ve always believed travel is not just about going and seeing a locale but also to give back. Learn its culture, look at its beauty and support tourism by getting to know the local social projects and give back to the local economy in any way I possibly can by volunteering and giving up some of my time.

From the 60 plus countries I have visited to date, I was hugely impressed by the sustainability efforts of Costa Rica. The country has had 98.5% of its electricity derived from renewable sources such as rainstorms, access to the ocean, hurricanes, tropical storms, and its equatorial location. There’s a reason why Costa Rica is home to very nearly 500,000 species, representing almost 5% of the total worldwide species. It’s one of 20 top countries with the highest biodiversity in the world. It is a complete gem of a place for lovers of flora and fauna and provides for one of the most educational places to visit with its rainforest eco-lodges, animal sightings in their natural habitats and sourcing foods home grown and by local small towns. The government have ploughed much of their money into healthcare, education, renewal energy and building geothermal energy plants and have withdrawn investment into military and defence.

3. Tell us what some of your next dream adventures are? What is on the bucket list?

Bucket list places most definitely involve a safari, more specifically in East Africa. My family originate from Kenya and Uganda. As well as seeing these places first hand and tracking their roots I have always wanted to experience seeing the animals that I heard about in my childhood roaming free in their natural habitats. I am also hoping to visit Finland’s capital, Helsinki and explore the city with its brilliant ways to tackle food waste by having restaurants and initiatives that focus on sustainable dining. A big one for my bucket list has always been Antarctica and witnessing how smaller companies have managed to navigate trips out there to give back and protect the environment as much as possible. Who knows where I’ll end up next, I can be a bit of a spontaneous adventure traveller, for example, my husband and I bought some around the world tickets! One thing I would like to carry on doing is exploring the UK and the beauty that’s on our doorstep.

4. What are your top 3-5 tips for travelling responsibly and in an eco-friendly way? Why is this important in the current times?

It’s good to note that responsible tourism is about being socially and culturally aware whilst travelling and trying to make your effect of travelling positive, whereas sustainable tourism refers to sustainable practices in and by the tourism industry. It aims to minimise negative impacts and maximise the positive ones. Some personal tips for travelling responsible and sustainably include:

Take Direct Flights

Where possible try and opt for direct flights to a destination. A large proportion of an aircraft’s carbon emissions are created during take-off and landing. The more you can reduce this with a direct flight reduces the carbon emitted into the atmosphere.

Boutique Hotels & sustainability Policies

When researching hotels, select locally owned and run hotels on a smaller scale including boutique hotels, apartments and Air BnB’s. This ensures that your money goes into the local economy rather than the pockets of big international conglomerates. Plus, smaller boutique hotels will be a lot more authentic, and you’ll see your money go a lot further where local staff are trained in the hospitality industry.

Before selecting your final hotel, fire off an email and ask if the hotel has a sustainability policy and what they do in terms of their water usage, food waste, in-room toiletries and so on. Try and see if they have a well-established sustainability initiative including employment of local staff, use of solar panels, food grown onsite and good recycling programmes.

Supports Local Restaurants, Tours, Businesses

Play a part in keeping the locals in jobs by eating in locally run restaurants, going on tours with agencies located at your destination and buying souvenirs and the like from local markets. Often items sold as souvenirs are made by women’s co-operatives where the artisan will take home a fair wage to support their family. Go and visit these co-operatives and see what is entailed in their work. Local guides often have a wealth of knowledge and are able to access the hidden gems making for a very authentic travel experience. You’ll get a great feel for the culture of your destination and you’ll be allowing locals to have jobs, learn languages and further advance the knowledge base of all involved.

Opt for Economy Class

We all love a spot of luxury and spacious travel surroundings in First or Business class but try and reduce the amount of travel in these cabins and swap for Economy class on some occasions. Your money will also go further in terms of spending your flight points if you’re a frequent traveller.

The extra space in cabins can lead to a 5 x more carbon footprint.

. Responsible Animal Experiences

Animal experiences must be researched thoroughly to ensure there is no issues with welfare and bad treatment. Elephant rides a big no as well as posing for selfies with tigers, who have in fact been drugged to sit there – this is not OK. Please don’t engaging in swimming with dolphins, watching shows with Killer whales or paying for monkeys to do tricks. Stop and think, this is not what these wild animals do in the wild. A tiger would not sit next to you, without trying to eat you. so obviously something is wrong. Elephants undergo a cycle of ‘breaking’ to be used for rides. Their backs are not made for riding. If it looks wrong and you don’t like the sound of the activity, it most probably is not right. Go with your gut instinct. The less the demand, the more likely this kind of cruelty can stop.

5. As the platform for women dreamers, what is your next big dream.

One of my biggest dreams is that we work towards creating a world where we can seamlessly blend the modern world ways with nature and live harmoniously with our surroundings. Education is the backbone of this mind shift and to allow the future generations the opportunity to enjoy this planet first hand rather than in a story book. The world indeed is out there and travel in the future is key to this education process. One of my biggest dreams would be to travel the world and see how each country is contributing to sustainability issues and what lessons we can learn, and share form this experience. In the future I would like to see travel being accessible to all because without experiencing the plight of the planet we cannot self-educate. Travel has been my biggest education and encouragement to protect the planet. Sustainability needs to be introduced into school curriculums from early on and practiced as a priority from home.

Check out some pictures from Bejal’s adventures!