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Two Eye-Opening Travel Trends You Need to Consider Before Booking Your Next Trip.

2021-01-17

Ethical Travel Trends to Participate In During the Upcoming Year

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(Photo by Ishan @seefromthesky on Unsplash)

Indeed, canceled travel plans don’t sit on the high end of “Most Important Things That Happened in 2020”. That doesn’t mean that the people who love to travel that canceled their vacations didn’t lead to a few broken hearts.

Travel has recently been looked at by those with the means as a form of entertainment. It also broadens the mind and allows the traveler to gain knowledge. Prior to 2020, no one justified their travel. Instead, we justified not traveling; however, during the COVID-19 pandemic, that all changed.

With a new year comes new hope. Although we are far from out of the pandemic’s reach, travelers are beginning to look ahead to the future. Travel makes up 11% of the world economy. That means that at least one of you reading this is also looking forward to the return of travel because it means income stability.

So 2021 is upon us. If you’re sitting back and wondering when you can travel again, you might also be wondering how you can go about traveling sustainably. So here is part two of a previous post: ethical travel trends to hop on during 2021.

Lists aren’t much good if you can’t implement them. That’s why this one includes suggestions for the trends listed here. Take these ideas and run with them - and remember, stay safe!

Farm to Fork, Pro-Nature Menu

To say that 2020 impacted the restaurant industry would probably be the understatement of the frickin’ year. Many restaurateurs, bartenders, line cooks, and bussers suddenly found themselves out of a job. Chefs and owners had to think quickly and pivot multiple times to stay afloat. In 2020, the restaurant industry realized just how sustainable it wasn’t - in more ways than one.

Necessity breeds innovation, though. This catastrophe brought the rise of some innovative and fantastic dining experiences. Think drag queen “Drag-Thrus,” where hungry patrons in Portland can order takeout and watch a drag show from their cars. How about the rise of “Ghost-Kitchens” and “Virtual Restaurants” that exist only for delivery services - aka the epitome of eating ala pandemic.

However, these trends weren’t the only things in the world of food to come out of the COVID-19 extravaganza. More and more people learned how to bake bread at home, can their produce, and create their unique ferments. Luckily for all of us and the sake of the planet, restaurants are quickly following suit.

Fermented foods, locally canned goods, in-season produce, and farm-to-table style dining are, without a doubt, good for the planet. The fewer miles your food travels to get to you, the better off we all are. Moreover, to the delight of vegans everywhere, plant-based food is beginning to take over. Even if this doesn’t mean vegan-exclusive food, it does mean a spotlight on fresh produce and veggie-heavy meals. Ethical and environmentally focused travelers are craving foods they know won’t contribute to deforestation (thanks, palm oil).

Luckily the prevalence of vertical gardens, local food menus, and sustainability-minded chefs are on the rise. So even abroad, we don’t have to look too hard for ethically sourced meals.

Travel, to many people, includes unique dining experiences at its very core. To this end, hotels and restaurants worldwide are stepping up and creating intimate, localized experiences for their guests. Places like Impact House, a sustainability-focused hostel in Lisbon, offers food “made with love” with a farm-to-table plant-based slant. 2021 is the year of unique, delicious, and local dishes in lush locales.

How to Experience This Delicious Trend While On Vacay: To the delight of many, Costa Rica has opened its borders to United States citizens, provided they have health insurance. Take advantage of this tropical paradise and plan a trip to Finca Rosa Blanca. The delightful coffee farm and inn promises vibrant, authentic Costa Rican cultural exchange in addition to delicious farm-to-table offerings. This Inn is a sustainability lover's paradise that doesn’t sacrifice quality or greenwash their guests - earning an unprecedented perfect score with the Costa Rican Certification for Sustainable Tourism.

Pura Vida, indeed.

Off-Season and Off-Grid Travel

Right now, we’re all seeking (desperately, seriously) to find some far-flung corner of the earth where a mention of COVID-19 has locals shrugging in confusion and muttering, “Never heard of her.” Full disclosure: that isn’t going to happen.

That doesn’t mean that going off-grid can’t happen. Look. A (probably large) subset of travelers will still look for travel that keeps them away from other people. There are two ways to do this: traveling off-grid and traveling during the off-season. Both have the potential for sustainable and ethical travel.

Traveling in the off-season can help reduce the economic disparities in developing countries between the high and low tourism seasons. For instance, countries like Tunisia rely heavily on tourism but often see an influx of visitors only a few months out of the year. This means they can alternately suffer from over-tourism and overcrowding during one season and a lack of economic income during the next.

Alternately, traveling off-grid has its own set of sustainable issues it addresses. Being off-grid means a community or place does not rely on the municipal water or electric grid. Alternatively, “off-grid” could simply suggest a lack of reliance on community products and services. An off-grid accommodation could include solar power electricity, geothermal heating, or natural hot springs. Typically and some-what obviously, an “off-grid” locale features a natural setting in some way, shape, or form.

Suggestions for Getting Away: These options have two main things in common: getting away from humans or society somehow and boosting the tourism industry’s overall sustainability.

Would you prefer a safari in the off-season, away from crowds? What about a famous landmark customarily packed full of people, covered in snow and all to yourself? Would you prefer to instead sleep in an eco-friendly Earthship in a beautiful, remote desert? How about a genuinely off-grid, rustic cabin in one of America’s best cross-country skiing locations?

Which option you choose is up to you, but any of them will lead to a sustainable, adventurous trip.

The Choice is Yours for Sustainable Travel Trends

Eating locally and consciously in a global setting builds up smaller economies and ensures that our food carbon footprint remains low (yet tasty). Traveling to get away from it can boost local economies during economically challenging times - or even allow the healing powers of nature to calm us while ensuring our actions don’t destroy the environment we seek to observe.

Where will travel take you in 2021? Are you taking this opportunity to ensure that your trip is healing? What about regenerative and ethical? Luckily these travel trends point towards a sustainable future for the industry that was up until recently dealing with some serious issues.

Make sure you’re on board for these 2021 travel trends!

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