Any diva worth her salt knows there’s a difference between making an impact and leaving one, particularly when it comes to travel. A Travelling Diva’s high-heeled entrance at a divine Big Apple rooftop soiree with all the gorgeous people is altogether different to the tippy-toe go-lightly experience of eco-sensitive whale watching encounters in Iceland, or a wildly remote northern lights adventure in Canada, for example.
It goes without saying that it’s impossible to visit a place without affecting it in some way. We go to great lengths to minimise leaving negative impacts on the places we visit—apart from the odd broken heart here and there. Sorry, Romeos.
In this new COVID-shutdown world, it’s clear that mass tourism has had very negative effects on some places. With travel on hold and Mother Earth taking a breath, we’re seeing the waters of Venice’s canals and lagoon sparkle back to remarkable clarity; long-forgotten vistas of the Himalayas are re-revealing themselves as the sky clears and even LA’s notoriously smoggy air is on the improve—this is perhaps the silver lining of the COVID cloud.
Whatever happens after the cloud clears and the world gets moving again, we suspect that sustainability will be a significant consideration for many travellers. What is the real impact of my journey? How can I minimise it? How do we continue to visit our favourite places without contributing to their demise? What does ‘sustainability’ really mean in the context of travel?
These questions will be an important part of decision-making and travel purchases for a long time to come.
We’ve been thinking about sustainable travel a lot lately. About ways both Travelling Divas and travellers can reduce their footprint. And, by that, we don’t just mean slipping into towering stilettos instead of comfy mules.
Here are a few practical ways you can reduce the enviro-impact of your next trip:
Carbon Offsetting
Most airlines offer methods for you to offset your share of carbon emissions generated by your flight. But not all emission programmes are created equal. When you’re planning your next adventure, spend some time reviewing what’s available to you. We like the Qantas ‘Future Planet’ program that ensures 100% of your contribution supports projects protecting the environment.
Re-Use and Recycle
Travel with your own reusable water bottle and drinking cups. Ditch the single-use plastic options wherever you can, and keep those nasties out of the eco-sytem. We love the range of products available at Earth Bottles.
Take a look at your toiletries
Our toiletries bags are a godsend—tiny warehouses of all the things every good diva needs on the road. But have you ever considered the eco-impact of all of those vital bits and pieces? Could yours be a little greener? There are loads of great options out there like sustainably produced bamboo toothbrushes, eco-friendly deodorants and, ocean-friendly sunscreens just for starters.
Eco-friendly daypacks
There’s nothing better than travelling with the perfect daypack. Especially when it’s as sustainable as all get-out. What’s a daypack? It’s that comfy, lightweight and little backpack a diva uses to lug around her camera, eco-friendly water bottle, sunscreen and cheeky treats. Our new faves are made by GOT BAG—a German start-up that makes them from ocean plastic.
‘Bleisure’ Travel
Bleisure is the new buzzword combo for ‘business’ and ‘leisure’. The idea is to extend business trips by tacking some leisure-time onto them, combining two journeys into one and reducing your carbon footprint. Who said you can’t mix business with pleasure?
When you travel with us, you’ll be in the expert hands of our preferred local ground handlers and tour operators. We’re quite particular about selecting those based on serious consideration of their own sustainability credentials and practices.
If you’ve already travelled with us, you’ll also know that we’re a 100% paper-free operation. All Diva docs are supplied electronically in convenient formats, so you can simply save them to your device and access the important info without printing a physical version.
Is all of this social isolation making you antsy? Rest assured we’ll be ready to fly the moment that borders and airports re-open. We hope you’ll be with us.
Take a look at what we’ve got lined up for you, and let us know where you’d like to go below. Sustainably, of course.
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