How to travel sustainably and responsibly?

Although the current situation in our country – and similarly nowhere else in the world – favors travel very little, hard times will pass and we will once again be able to enjoy freedoms and trips to all corners of the world. However, post-coronavirus travel could be somewhat different, with a much greater emphasis on sustainability and authenticity.

The coronavirus has shown us the fragility of the foundations on which our society stands and the negatives of globalization

What was just some kind of plague raging in China a year ago is today a problem limiting the life of each of us. Society, which was running at full speed, almost froze overnight; people realized how fragile the mechanisms are that allow most people to live in such prosperity. Moreover, it has become clear how much this slowdown benefits our planet. Reduced transportation and production brought more calm and regeneration of ecosystems, air emissions decreased, and a smaller number of tourists—for example, the canals of Italian Venice—restored life in the form of fish and water birds.

And these are precisely the coronavirus impacts that will help us open our eyes and change our approach to a whole range of things, including travel. Flying for a weekend vacation just because the ticket is discounted to 300 crowns? An attractive offer, but one that leaves a significant carbon footprint behind and means you basically won't get to know the destination at all within two days.

Travel with the motivation to truly get to know the culture of the country and you can even save money

A much better and more responsible solution is less frequent but longer vacations. During them, you will have the chance to properly get to know the place – meet the local culture, taste all the food, enjoy beautiful natural landmarks, make new friendships, and even support the local economy.

However, we will never achieve this if we travel to purely tourist destinations and stay in five-star hotels of multinational developers, which are completely detached from the reality behind the walls of the resorts.

You will experience the authenticity of a place only when you stay with locals. They will open the door to their community for you; through them, you will see what family life looks like here, what customs the locals have, and which places they like to visit. In short, thanks to them you will get to know much more than just tourist attractions. And this is exactly what you can experience, for example, in beloved Cambodia.