Unveiling the Secrets of Sustainable Travel with Erin Hynes
Mediaplanet sat down with Erin Hynes, a sustainable travel influencer leading the way to greener adventures, to learn the tips and tricks for how Canadians can be more mindful on their future travels.
Why is sustainable travel important?
Over the last few decades, people have increasingly embraced travel. With the rise of budget airlines and digital booking platforms, travel has become accessible in a way that it’s never been before. These days, hundreds of millions of tourists travel every year to places all over the globe, and the tourism industry is a huge economic force.
Sustainable tourism is important because it ensures the benefits of this mass tourism outweigh the negatives, making tourism a positive force. With sustainable models of tourism, people, culture, heritage, language, wildlife, natural resources, our environment, and everything else that makes this planet special are protected.
Some of the goals of sustainable travel are to reduce the effects of overtourism, support local and Indigenous communities, protect natural resources and wildlife, make travel accessible for those with disability, create an inclusive tourism industry, and more.
Do you have any tips for how Canadians can be more sustainable while travelling?
There are a few simple things Canadian travellers can do! It all starts with choosing where
you travel to. Many places around the world, including popular places here in Canada, are struggling with the impact of mass tourism, or overtourism. To avoid adding to that pressure, you can choose to travel in the off-season or shoulder season. Or, pick a place to go that is less overwhelmed. You’ll benefit too, because you’ll get to travel without so many crowds. Another important tip is to be cognizant of where you spend your money. Our dol lars are a big part of how we can ensure the communities we visit benefit from tourism.
Rather than staying in hotel chains, book into locally, independently owned hotels or bed and breakfasts. This way, your tourism dollars go into local hands rather than a foreign corporate entity. This practice extends beyond just hotels. Whenever you can, eat in locally owned restaurants, shop in local markets and stores, and hire local guides.
A third tip is to travel slowly. Instead of having a packed itinerary, stay as long as you can at each place you plan to visit. Spending more time makes it possible for you to connect with the place you’re visiting – you can get to know the culture and people better. This also means you can spend more tourism dollars in that community.
What are some of your favourite sustainable travel activities?
Definitely spending time outdoors! I really enjoy hiring hiking guides, regardless of where I am in the world. Going on a hike with a local guide gives you a chance to spend quality time with a person who knows the place you’re visiting well. And because you’re out on a trail, there’s lots of time for conversation! You have the chance to learn about local life, beyond the hike itself.
I’m also a big fan of homestays, for the same reasons. Spending time with a host family gives you insight into local life that is otherwise hard to experience. Every time I’ve booked a homestay, it’s ended up being the highlight of my trip.
How RVing Can Bring You Closer to Nature This Summer
Have you ever noticed how a walk in the park calms you down after a tough week or how a bonfire helps the conversation flow freely?
How about the fact that the sound of waves lapping on a beach puts you to sleep faster than anything else? These observations are not just anecdotal, but fact.
According to research compiled by McMaster University’s Nature @ McMaster studying the effects of nature on our health, “Significant research supports the therapeutic benefits of spending time surrounded by nature. Not only are the therapeutic effects observed following non-active ‘nature-bathing’ activities, but they also exceed those experienced from urban-outdoor exposures alone, reinforcing the importance of nature and greenspace for mental well-being.”
Canadians, fortunately, are surrounded by flora and fauna just outside our doors. We just need to get out there and explore what’s in our own backyard, and an RV can help get us there.
Living the RV lifestyle
Aside from various scientific studies that prove the nature-mental wellness link, we can feel the emotional effects of being out in the open air. If you always thought, though, that you weren’t the camping type, RVing is the best way to find yourself in nature.
Highly customizable, RVs come in all different sizes and shapes and can be as simple or as modified as you like. Some people need only a cooktop and a bathroom to make them happy when hitting the road while others might not leave their living rooms for less than a full-sized kitchen, large living space, and air conditioning.
adventurers, luxury-loving trippers, and family-focused vacationers can all find the right RV experience to fit their needs. The choice is yours — the important thing is to escape the daily grind and feel the healing effects of being out in nature with friends and family.
Short haul or long haul the RV way When you hit the road to go RVing you can pull it, drive it, or even park it. Many people set up a home away from home by living in an RV for part of the year, either to escape Canada’s cold winter or to embrace it.
For those who like to work at home, nothing’s better than working on the road. Surround yourself in nature like a comfy blanket that keeps you centred on the task at hand. No ringing phones and chaotic conversations in a busy office corridor. Just the sounds of lapping water, whispering trees, or twittering birds.
If you’re short on time, weekend breaks are at your fingertips in every region of the country. If you live in British Columbia, for instance, take a short drive to Whistler to experience the Sasquatch Zipline, spanning over two kilometres. If that’s a little too daunting, spend time on Blackcomb Mountain either hiking, skiing, or simply taking in the view.
Manitobans take to the road in the summer to visit one of Manitoba’s 100,000 lakes. Those living in Ontario might like to take the family on a short jaunt to Canada’s Wonderland, on to Reptilia to see the creepy crawlies, and end the weekend with quiet time at the Kortright Centre for Conservation. Quebecers can make their way to the Laurentians to take in a summer festival with friends or hit the hills in ski gear in the winter.
If you’re looking for a longer getaway, then take a bucket list-worthy vacation to one of Canada’s must-see natural highlights. A trip to Labrador and Newfoundland means you can surround yourself with some of the most ancient and alien vistas you could ever hope to see in Gros Morne National Park. Seeing the Northern Lights is a dream for many and you can see them dance in the Northwest Territories without having to worry about where to find a hotel in the wilderness. Or you can travel down one of the most beautiful roads
in Canada, Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail.
Let these journeys through Canada’s natural landscapes help you connect with the you that you want to be, not just the you that you are.
Ecotourism includes travelling by RV With RVing you aren’t only being kind to yourself — you’re being kind to nature.
RVing is more environmentally friendly than you might think. Compared to air travel, for instance, RVing is a more sustainable means of transit, especially with improvements in green tech. Vehicles in general are more efficient than ever before and RVs do more than pull their own weight when it comes to being eco-conscious.
RVers can lessen their environmental impact further by making smart day-to-day choices. These can include using eco-friendly cleaning products, installing solar panels as a renewable energy source, planning meals and snacks to reduce waste, using reusable containers, and avoiding single-use plastics. Additional tips include keeping to proper pathways so that delicate flowers and plants aren’t trampled in your wake, not washing anything in natural sources of water to keep ecosystems intact, and only using items that are reusable. A good general rule of thumb is to leave your campsite cleaner than you found it, because when nature is happy, you’ll be a happy camper, too.
Canadians are surrounded by nature and RV travel can help us explore our own backyard in an environmentally responsible way.
Janice Tober
When Flying is More Carbon-Efficient than Driving: Condor’s new A330neos
Travel is essential for our mental and social well-being, and it can be more affordable and sustainable than you might think.
Frank Campagna
International travel is a cure-all. Vacation and leisure are some of the most surefire remedies for the psychological pressures and mental health challenges of modern life. Moreover, the broadening of perspective inherent in exploring new places and unfamiliar cultures is a powerful antidote against a broad range of social ills. Travel makes people happier, healthier, and more open-minded. And the more freely we can encourage people to explore the globe, meet new friends, see new sights, learn new things, the more welcoming and vibrant our homes become.
Yet, even as we anticipate the myriad benefits of travel, even as we yearn to adventure far and wide, we must contend with two less comfortable truths about conventional air travel. The cost can be prohibitive, especially for the disadvantaged. And the carbon impact of aviation can be significant, at a time when the future of the climate is everyone’s top priority. Some airlines, however, are working very hard to make travel both more sustainable and more affordable. With the fuel efficiency gains of modern aircraft, flying can be much greener and more accessible than you might think.
When you are booking your tickets, you are empowered to align yourself with a carrier that is pulling out all the stops to make sustainable and affordable travel available to all.
Condor Airlines, operating out of Germany since 1956, has recently reimagined itself with a strong focus on sustainability and affordability. Condor’s fleet of planes, dressed in vibrant stripes, has been bolstered with 18 state-of-the-art Airbus A330neo long-haul aircraft. This new plane boasts high tech noise reduction systems and an exquisitely designed cabin for maximum comfort at a low operating cost. It is also a huge leap forward in responsible aviation, carrying 310 passengers at a fuel efficiency of just 2.1 liters per passenger per 100km. This is not only a massive gain compared to aviation industry standards, it is also significantly more carbon efficient than travelling by car over the same distance. Many modern internal combustion automobiles burn five or more liters per 100km, and a very large portion of car journeys carry only a single passenger.
With destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and North America — including Toronto, Vancouver,
Montreal, and many others in Canada — Condor’s sustainable approach to aviation is opening the globe up to responsible travellers worldwide. The company’s commitment to smart environmental citizenship does not end with high-efficiency aircraft however. Within Germany, the airline also offers an innovative Rail & Fly system which connects passengers from the rail network to their flight on a single fare, reducing the need for emissions-heavy vehicle transport to and from airports.
Branding itself as a leisure airline — with it’s colourful striped livery meant to evoke parasols and beach towels — Condor is well aware of the importance of travel and holiday, not only for quality of life and mental health, but also as a way of opening our mind to the diversity and totality of the human experience. We gain so much benefit from travel, whether our destination is near or far, and Condor is working to make those trips available with a clear conscience to even the most climate conscious traveller. In addition to the 18 A330neos currently curbing emissions on their long haul flights, Condor will also be adding 41 similarly efficient short- and medium-haul A32Xneo aircraft to their fleet by 2024, when the A330neo will also be in full operation. And so, as the summer gets into full swing and visions of far-flung and exotic locales begin to flash more and more frequently through our minds, keep in mind also that these sorts of adventures can be accessible, that they can come with a far lower price — both in dollars and in climate impact — than you might think. Aviation on the whole does remain a carbon concern that we will collectively need to address, but solutions are already beginning to take shape. Accessible travel is our gateway to a healthier future both individually and as a society, and we are able to choose that future while also embracing climate responsibility. We have this choice because not all aircraft — and not all airlines — are created equal. When you are booking your tickets, you are empowered to align yourself with a carrier that is pulling out all the stops to make sustainable and affordable travel available to all.
