While at its best travel can both open a person up to a bigger world and bring some much-needed tourist spending to different communities, rising tourist numbers have been putting significant pressure on certain parts of the world.
Protests against excessive tourism have been spreading across multiple cities in Spain and Italy while local officials have been working to combat overcrowding with everything from timed entry slots for popular areas to tourist taxes and promotion of off-the-beaten-path destinations to drive traffic away from the busiest ones.
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EF promises to deliver 'more sustainable tour options'
Travel company EF Ultimate Break, which is an offshoot of the wider EF Education First company, just announced a partnership with the Thai government that aims to promote responsible tourism to the country.
While the company has offered youth trips to Thailand for decades, the new trips for travelers between the ages of 18 and 35 will be designed with itineraries focused on volunteering with local environmental and animal welfare initiatives as well as supporting smaller businesses and remote communities.
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“From limiting our carbon impact where possible, adhering to strict animal welfare guidelines, and supporting local businesses and communities, we’re evolving our itineraries to deliver sustainable tour options that preserve landmarks, environments, and destinations for future generations,” EF Ultimate Break President Heather Leisman says in a statement.
The new itineraries include a 15-day Highlights of Thailand tour that includes visits to an elephant sanctuary and Ao Phang Nga National Park in the south of the country and a 14-day tour of north Thailand in which participants learn about organic farming and work with farmers. The specific environmental initiatives were chosen based on guidance from the Thai government on specific areas that need preservation.
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Sustainable tourism is a buzzword (here is what it actually means)
"We know, inclusive of market research recently conducted by EF Ultimate Break, that a new generation of travelers not only will pay for sustainable travel options, but they are demanding travel choices that more positively support local communities and mitigate environment impact," Pornpan Intratat, director of tourism authority in the Thai government's Los Angeles office, said in a statement.
While numerous surveys on travel trends show that a growing number of people are considering the environment when booking trips, the exact meaning of "sustainable tourism" can often be washed out into a vague buzzword.
Some use it to refer to going to less popular places to bring down the flow of mass tourism, while others refer to staying in hotels specifically certified as environmentally friendly or taking more sustainable means of transportation such as trains or boats.
In 2023, the Thai government also raised the international arrival fee from 150 to 300 baht (approximately $9 USD) which goes to cleaning up and restoring some of the country's most popular monuments (the decision followed nearly a year of political discussion on how to navigate the damage being caused by rising numbers of visitors).
A September 2024 survey done by EF Ultimate Break shows that 72% of Americans and Canadians between the ages of 18 to 35 consider environmental factors while booking travel while an additional 75% and 73% specifically look out for policies that support animal welfare or giving back to local communities, respectively.
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