Sustainable travel: How to do it and how housesitting fits in
This blog post is about sustainable travel. Things like overtourism, under tourism, disaster tourism, what places to avoid and go, and how housesitting can fit in with these ideas.
Sustainable travel means travelling in a way that is less harmful to the environment and is more natural and ecological, in keeping with the environment. To travel sustainably is to fully consider climate change, environmental pollution and community impact in each destination and to assess whether our journey to that place will be positive or negative. It means being thoughtful about location, transport methods, types of accommodation, where we eat and when we travel.
At a talk I visited in 2022, Chris Haslam, chief travel writer for the Sunday Times said that the quickest way to become a sustainable traveller was to “Fly less, stay longer, and leave it better than when you arrived”.
Everyone can make a positive impact on a place whether that simply means supporting local food producers and restaurants, or spending a day or two volunteering in the community, or doing a few hours of litter picking with your family. At the very least, travelling in a sustainable way means leaving “no trace” that you’ve visited – no litter or physical impact on the landscape, never flying somewhere that can be accessed easily by overland travel, and never visiting places that have been listed as vulnerable or that have ecosystems that need protection.
Us western tourists have a bit of a reputation for discovering sun-drenched unspoilt destinations and commandeering them to become a hub for western holidaymakers. The influx of people to these destinations increases the amount of flights there which in turn makes airfares cheaper, and so we book to go there more frequently. Increased competition often also means that food and drink becomes cheaper. This cycle of over tourism can be the systematic ruining of a place – as seen in places such as Benidorm in Spain, some parts of Bali in Indonesia, Maya Beach in Thailand, and Santorini in Greece. In all of these places, it is easier to meet another tourist rather than a local.
The increase in traffic, air travel and cruise ships causes air pollution, landfill sites struggle, and things such as increased sewage waste, sun cream leaching, water sports, and boat anchors, cause water pollution and damage to coral reefs. A lot of these places lose their charm as a result. So whether you are staycationing or travelling abroad, consider seeking housesits in less touristic places. For example, instead of visiting Cornwall that tends to be busy all year round, consider the Northumberland coast – all the bang, without the buck, and without the people too!
Places that have had their ecosystems badly damaged due to global warming or over-tourism should be left alone so that they can recover; for example, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in Australia whose coral bleaching is a direct result of the rise in sea water temperatures. A distressing report conducted in 2022 stated that 91% of the reefs on the GBR were affected by a mass event of coral bleaching that year. Another example of the damaging impact of over-tourism is Maya Bay beach in Thailand, famous for being “The Beach” from the film of the same name starring Leonardo Di Caprio. Due to extreme rubbish building up, coral reef decaying, and native wildlife retreating from the area, the Thai authorities decided to close the beach entirely in 2018. The beach was initially supposed to be closed for four months only, but due to the lockdowns it was actually closed for four years. Native wildlife returned in abundance, and now the coral reef is blooming and rare wildlife species have re-appeared.
This beach has now reopened to tourists, and hopefully tourist visits will now be arranged in a more controlled and sustainable way that respects the fragile environment there.
Even Mount Everest has been affected by over-tourism. This has led to overcrowding, safety issues, and a rubbish problem close to the summit – as the famous 2019 photo showed.
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You may have recently heard that an area is struggling due to under-tourism, and this may be a good reason to travel there on holiday and look for housesits there too. Sri Lanka is one such country that has found it difficult to bounce back from the knock-on effects not only of the pandemic but also the political tensions within the country which has meant that many countries’ foreign offices have advised their citizens not to travel there in recent years. However, this advice has now lifted and the country is now considered a safe destination; you will likely find that long-abandoned local tour guides, restaurant owners, and hotel staff eagerly await your return to the island nation.
The term “disaster tourism” has negative connotations with critics using it to apply to tourists who have a voyeuristic fascination with other people’s misfortune. However, consider the impact on local economies of the slump in tourism during these times. Regions hit by phenomena such as cyclones, typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, landslides and avalanches often find that they are doubly punished; firstly by the disaster itself, and secondly by the immediate cessation of tourists. If they rely on the latter, they often struggle for years after the disaster zone has been restored.
For example, it was estimated that the wildfires in Australia a few years ago cost the tourism industry in that country something in the region of 4.5 billion dollars. So once an area is considered safe by the foreign office, you could consider a trip there. You will find that during these times, prices of both travel and accommodation are cheaper and the locals are more grateful for your visit. Not only that, but you will also be making a direct impact on the economic growth and regeneration of the place.
You could also combine your trip with some volunteering in these areas, such as rebuilding homes or clearing debris. In the case of man-made disasters such as biological or chemical threats, terrorist attacks or other civil unrest it may of course take some time before a place is safe to visit. In the case of Chernobyl, for example, it is permitted to visit the area but, due to the ongoing radiation emitted, may not be safe for those already suffering from certain health issues.
Of course these decisions are always a personal choice and need to be carefully made according to your own circumstances. A personal experience of this for us was in the summer 2015 when we had a holiday booked to Tunisia. Just before our trip there were two incidents quite close together of mass shootings; one in Tunis and one on the beach near to Sousse. Our holiday was booked one hour north of the beach where the shootings took place. Did this worry us? A little. Did we go? Yes. We knew that two attacks so close together indicated growing political tension in the country. However, we also knew that cancelling the trip would be what most people would do, and that the impact of this on the local communities that relied on tourists would be devastating. We took a tour of the country whilst there and the tour guide told us the direct impact on the local people that the reduced tourism had made. People were struggling to buy food for their families as their main source of income had vanished overnight.
When thinking about “disaster tourism” or visiting a place that has been in the news for negative reasons, there is no heroism in making the decision to travel there, just as there is no weakness in changing your travel destination to somewhere else. Make sure that the decisions you make are the right ones for you and your loved ones.
Considering when to travel to a destination can make a difference to the impact your visit will have on a place, as well as your experience of it. The most sensible way to think about this question is to think of another; when can you give back the most to a community living in a certain place? One answer is to avoid travelling at times when the place will be at its busiest.
For example, if you see a housesit near Hyde Park when Winter Wonderland is on, you can be sure there will be crowds and chaos; this may be something you want to do, or something you’d rather avoid. If you feel that other areas of the UK may benefit from tourism at that particular time of the year instead, then look for housesits there. A great feature of most housesitting sites is that you can search for housesits in specific places, there is a map view so you can see what housesits are out there.
In the case of certain destinations that are overrun with tourists at certain times of the year such as Rome in August, New York at Christmas, the French Alps in February, and the Lake District on Easter weekend (you get the idea) – try looking for housesits off-season, or looking for more unknown places. Busy doesn’t always mean a thriving economy for the locals; it can actually cripple their way of living as they have to rely on the tourist income earned in just a few short weeks or months of the year. It also means that locals are pushed out of their own neighbourhoods as tourism increases the price of properties, and hotels are built instead of residential housing.
The main things that we want when we go on holiday is hot weather and relaxation, and the weather also tends to be the best throughout the typical summer months of July and August. Shoulder seasons can be a winning solution here, when weather is still warm, crowds are lessened and prices to travel and stay are lower.
In Europe, this tends to mean booking holidays between early April-early June and early September-late October. Destinations that are notoriously busy in summer months tend to struggle throughout winters and shoulder-season periods; they make all their money in a couple of months and have to survive the rest of the year on it.
Travelling outside the normal tourist season means you can improve their livelihood and enable them to be more stable year-round. You will also have a fuller understanding of the place you visit as you will see it outside of the tourist season. You will undoubtedly face some differences in your holidays due to this change; the weather may be less predictable and you may find certain bars or restaurants are closed. However, the best holidays are ones where you take an unexpected route or do something different to what you’d normally do.
Visiting a ski resort in the middle of summer might sound like madness, but there will be fantastic hiking, mountain biking and paragliding. And how about a beach holiday in winter; try cooking classes, star gazing and spa days to warm you up! All it takes is a little creative thinking outside of the usual summer-holiday box.
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Housesitting inherently fits into the slow and sustainable remit. Staying for extended periods of time in a person’s home, means a lower carbon footprint from travel – and if you can get there by train or ferry, or car-share, then all the better. Staying longer will also offset slightly the need to drive if it’s a rural location or if you have luggage. And the fact that housesitting essentially provides you with free accommodation, means that you can spend some of the money that you have saved on accommodation on slower means of getting there!
By searching for available housesits in the map view on your app, you can plan to move just small distances between sits – which means you’ll get to know the area even better, and makes the journeys that much easier to keep. We started housesitting in the North Cotswolds, and we are from Gloucester originally, so we began our journey only an hour from our home. From there, we moved around the UK, usually only travelling for an hour or two between sits. We will continue to travel in this way, strategically planning our movement to places that may or may not already be on our list of places to see (which is pretty much everywhere in the world).
Slow travel means more interaction with local communities, and housesitting means that you will naturally interact far more with the local community than you would have done had you stayed in a hotel. When you housesit, you are engaging with the local community from the instant you reach out to someone who needs their home and pets looked after. Use this person as a valuable resource; they can introduce you to the neighbours, and they can tell you about that tucked-away gem of a restaurant, or the local farmer/grower who sells their fresh veg on-site on Saturday mornings. They can also let you know about local volunteering projects that they are involved in, and/or that you could get involved with during your stay.
Other options that might provide you with valuable cultural exchange include joining in with local exercise classes and speaking to other attendees. Chat with the locals to find out more about what’s going on in the area, and, if abroad, practice your language skills!
The longer you stay, the more you will feel the benefit of being more integrated in the community and of seeing the area through the eyes of a resident rather than a tourist. The process of unpacking and packing back up can be stressful and a longer stay minimises the time spent doing that. We are currently aiming to conduct housesits of around one month in length minimum – we feel this is a good amount of time to actively participate within the community and explore the surrounding walks on offer.
One argument against housesitting being sustainable is that you are not paying for your accommodation, so hotels, B&B’s and campsites in the area will not be benefiting from your custom. Yet, it’s also possible that you wouldn’t have visited that area at all if it wasn’t for housesitting, and you will still be putting money back into the area by buying at local shops and eating at local restaurants. Although money might not be being put into accommodation by your visit, you are still spending money within the area.
Supporting local businesses such as locally-run independent restaurants, farm shops, cafés and gift shops, is a great way to do this. The money you have saved on accommodation can not only by invested in slower ways of travel, but can also be invested in the often pricier, but more sustainable, local food options. When you are eating or buying food, speak to the staff about the items, whether the ingredients are fresh and local, and if so, where exactly they are from. Take an interest in food miles and zero waste policies that businesses may have. If they are doing it, they will be keen to talk to you about it and will most likely be wanting to communicate about it on their menus and signage. Saving money on accommodation also means having more money to spare for supporting local amenities such as national parks, activity centres and other unique local experiences; you’ll have a richer and more varied experience than you otherwise would have.
I hope that’s helped you think a bit more about what sustainable travel is, how you can do it without too much difficulty and how housesitting fits in with it all.