The ETHICAL and COMMUNITY-BASED WAY of SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL


Travel is a beautiful thing. It helps us grow, experience other CULTURES and appreciate our differences that results PEACE and SECURITY. But if we're not careful, it can be destructive to the ENVIRONMENT, ironically destroying the PLACES that we travel so far to see. But it doesn't have to.


The AIM of COMMUNITY-BASED TRAVEL is directly benefit LOCAL COMMUNITIES FINANCIALLY, while travellers experience LOCAL WAY OF LIFE. Communities that participate community-based travel are strong RESILIENCY and ready to show travellers their CULTURE. 

The unique future of community-based travel is the fact that TOURISM experiences are HOSTED and MANAGED by LOCAL COMMUNITIES.

Key benefits of COMMUNITY-BASED TRAVEL:

🎉SUSTAINS LOCAL CULTURE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
🎉FACILITATES LOCAL EMPLOYMENT
🎉DIRECTLY BENEFITS LOCAL FINANCIALLY
🎉CREATES and EMPOWERS COMMUNITIES
🎉ADDS VALUE TO THE LOCAL BUSINESSES
🎉SUPPORTS THE MOVEMENT OF GOOD TOURISM

Happy Tour Services SUPPORTS THE COMMUNITY-BASED SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL from the SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS of UNITED NATION WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION (UNWTO). In particular, it has been included as targets in GOALS 8, 12, and 14 on INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH, SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION (SCP) AND THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF OCEANS AND MARINE RESOURCES, RESPECTIVELY!!! 💗💖

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM is firmly positioned in 2030 agenda. Achieving this agenda, however requires a clear implementation framework, adequate financing and investment in technology, infrastructure and human resources.

And today, we're going to help you learn to adjust your travel habits to minimize your impact so we can preserve our planet, the people, the culture, the economy, and the peace and order for future generations.

🏖️🌄Get ready to the positive difference!!!🌅🏞️

THIS IS HOW TO TRAVEL SUSTAINABLY.

Let's go!!! ☺️😇

In the spirit of exploring the planet, while preserving it for the children's generations, these are our tips on how we all can travel more sustainably.

First things first: TRAVEL LOCALLY.

One of the biggest myths about travel is that you need to go to the opposite side of the planet in order to have a meaningful experiences.

We all have a dream of traveling internationally, but we neglect our own backyard. HENRY DAVID THOREAU, one of AMERICA'S GREAT WRITERS, spent years traveling the UNITED STATES on foot garnering deep philosophical insights from his experiences, all without leaving his home country of CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS. 

Before you fly, think about where you can hike, canoe, or sail. Appreciating what you have nearby makes the occasional distant adventure all that much more rewarding.

NUMBER 2: USE GREEN, LOCAL TRANSPORT.

Once you arrive, use green, local transportation to get around. Just like back home, using cars and taxi's. Instead, set off on two feet. IT'S FREE; IT'S HEALTHY, AND IT'S STILL THE BEST WAY TO GET LOST AND DISCOVER NEW LOCAL SPOTS. Same goes with public transport. Give yourself a cheap city rides by jumping on and off in a local bus routes.

But perhaps the best overall method is to practice "SLOW TRAVEL." Just as "SLOW FOOD" counters the ills of fast food, slow travel practices Sustainability by doing less on each trip. For example, of you're planning a two weeks trip to a certain place, instead of flying from here to there, trying to do as much as possible in as little time as you have, pick one place, maybe two. Rent a house, explore it on foot and try to make a meaningful connection with the local community.

This is the essence of slow travel. If you do want to cover some distant, do it by bike, train, horse, sailing, or walking, rhe original form of travel and definitely the HEALTHIEST.

NUMBER 3: RECYCLE AND DON'T LITTER.

RESPECT the Place you're visiting. And do not LITTER EVER!!! Take it a step further and recycle what you can when you can. And be sure to ask your hotel about their recycling program.

NUMBER 4: PACK LIGHT and PACK A REUSABLE BOTTLES.

One of the most overlooked tips is to simply pack light. Bring one bag instead of two might not seem like that big of a difference, but all those extra bags add up and burn a lot more jet fuel.

Plastic bottles often end up polluting the land and sea, so bring your own water bottle, and refill it when traveling. The less bulk the better so consider buying a foldable water bottle that collapses when you're done.

It is not just how much you pack, it's what you pack. Specifically, pack reusable items and avoid using single-use plastic items like straws and water bottles which don't decompose and eventually end up in our oceans. Like the great garbage patch.

NUMBER 5: PACK A COUPLE REUSABLE TOTE BAGS FOR GROCERIES OR TO HOLD YOUR DIRTY LAUNDRY, AND YOU'RE GOOD TO GO.

Plastic bags end up in waterways and landfills where they don't break down for years. So bring a reusable tote bags to put all of your things conveniently. Which is available to HAPPY TOUR SERVICES. Beyond that, be mindful when you're packing your toiletries, especially if you're traveling places with poor sanitation and fragile eco systems. Avoid products in aerosol can, body washes with micro beads, or sulfate shampoos.

Inevitably, all of these end up in our rivers and oceans. And instead of using samplers in your hotel room buy a pack of reusable go-tubes, and fill them up with your favorite eco friendly products from your home.

NUMBER 6: SUPPORT LOCALS, NOT CORPORATIONS. AND SHOP DIRECT FROM THE SOURCE.

To help LOCAL ECONOMY THRIVE, buy locally made souvenirs, dine at local restaurants, use local tour operators, and stay in locally owned hotels. The HAPPY TOUR SERVICES IS ALSO SUPPORTING THE LOCALS.

Shopping directly from the source is a way of knowing your souvenirs are ethically sourced. Just like in LAKE SEBU, you can visit the DREAM WEAVERS and a lot more.

NEXT UP: THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU EAT.

One of the best parts about travel is trying LOCAL FLAVORS. So avoid MULTI-NATIONAL CHAINS, and EAT LOCALLY. It's CHEAPER, HEALTHIER, AND BETTER FOR THE PLANET, not to mention, you're building the LOCAL ECONOMY. And if you were raised in the west, you're probably accustomed to eating more meat than the locals. Actually eating less meat is one of the most effective ways to reduce your emissions no matter where you are on earth. Not to mention again, eating vegetables and fruits are usually a safer bet if you're worried about getting a stomach bug (as long as they're washed). And to state the obvious, do not take any animal products as souvenirs especially ivory, tiger bone, shark fin soup and etc.

Importantly, please stop supporting CRUELTY ANIMAL TOURIST ATTRACTIONS. If you go to an animal tourist attraction without researching it first, there's a good chance that you are unknowingly funding animal cruelty. What you don't see when you go these attractions is the intense abuse that's going on behind the scenes. They beat these animals into submission to ensure that they are less of a threat to the tourists who pay to see them. 

TEN OF THE WORLD'S CRUELLEST ATTRACTIONS:

⚔️RIDING ELEPHANTS
⚔️TAKING TIGER SELFIES
⚔️WALKING WITH LIONS
⚔️VISITING BEAR PARKS
⚔️HOLDING SEA TURTLES
⚔️PERFORMING DOLPHINS
⚔️DANCING MONKEYS
⚔️TOURING CIVET COFFEE PLANTATIONS
⚔️CHARMING SNAKES AND KISSING COBRAS
⚔️FARMING CROCODILES

(WildCRU researchers analyzed 24 different types of wildlife entertainment attractions across the world. They rated them based on welfare and conservation criteria). Please visit THE WILDCRU.ORG.

VOTE with your money and favor local tour operators who help protect wildlife and preserve local cultural heritage, especially if you're traveling to INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES whose lives can be GREATLY AFFECTED BY TOURISM.

Remember that in developing ECONOMIES, where the cost of going green is relatively a lot higher, it can mean not putting food on the family table, which means change can come a lot more slowly.

NUMBER 7: CONSERVE WATER and SAVE ENERGY.

This gives a pretty simple one. REDUCE your SHOWER TIME, TURN OFF THE LIGHTS IN THE HOTEL WHEN YOU LEAVE, AND ALSO UNPLUG ANY ELECTRONICS THAT YOU'RE NOT USING.

The impact of CONSERVING WATER AND SAVING ENERGY in your hotel is so much important if you're traveling to fragile eco systems like national parks. But eco-lodges are a great way to be close to nature and support the local economy, all while being sustainable.

NUMBER 8: LIVE BY THE SAYING: "LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS, TAKE ONLY MEMORIES."

Lastly, it's trite but TRUE, but you can even do one better. Next time you go to the beach, hills, mountains, and national parks, pick up some trash and throw it away. Doesn't matter if it's not yours. You're doing the PLANET A SOLID, or you could even practice the NEW SWEDISH FITNESS TREND: "PLOGGING," which is jogging but with a trash bag, and you pick up all the trash you see along the way.

We all make small changes to our thoughts and out actions, then collectively we can all make huge differences.

To support of our GENSAN ENTREPRENEURS AND SMEs, please visit the FB page of DTI-GENERAL SANTOS CITY.

"STAY FIT. STAY HEALTHY, and BE SUSTAINABLE!"

your HAPPY travel buddy,

HAPPY TOUR SERVICES 😇☺️💖💗

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