Why sustainable travel isn't just about carbon footprints

We're gently swaying at the door of my two-berth train cabin on our overnighter from Hanoi to Hue, enjoying a bucket-list travel moment. We’ve woken up to dawn-gilded scenes of banana-tree-framed paddy fields, Buddhist pagodas, motorbikes stopped at rail crossings, a beautiful blur in the early morning light.

Tu, our Vietnamese guide, later reminds me and my travelling partner, podcast editor Jon Weeks, that as idyllic as the passing landscapes are, many here might have risked their lives to try to illegally migrate to perceived greener pastures if it weren’t for visitors like us.

Jon and I are in Vietnam to explore exactly this for the Standard’s latest sustainable travel podcast: how connecting in a more meaningful way with the places we go to and the people we meet there is a win-win for everyone.

International tourism means more Vietnamese can stay in their home villages, since trips such as ours are putting money in local pockets. You might ask what this has to do with sustainable travel, but sustainability is not just about carbon footprints. Despite the enormous pressure that emissions from flying place on the environment, travel is one of the most effective tools for climate solutions, driving positive change by helping communities such as the ones we’ve met in Vietnam to thrive and prosper. And this very human win-win sits alongside the importance of tackling global warming.

As you read this, symptoms of the climate emergency are everywhere — extreme heatwaves in India. Wildfires in Canada where smoke crossed the Atlantic to choke holidaymakers on the beach in Portugal. Catastrophic floods in Brazil, Kenya — even the UAE. And yet we’re seeing sustainability slip down the agenda. Booking.com’s survey of more than 31,000 holidaymakers found that while 75 per cent of respondents want to travel more sustainably, 49 per cent see sustainable options as expensive.

“For many, the effects of climate change may feel far away, and with so many worries in our daily lives it is sometimes easy to lose perspective. Every fire, flood and drought is a reminder that climate change is real and touches all of us — especially the local communities that are hit hardest,” says Sally Davey, chief executive of Travalyst. “We can all make choices today that protect our shared future.”

It’s nearly a year since the Standard launched its sustainable travel campaign , and much has changed in the world — not all of it for the better. We set out with lofty ambitions: to show readers why making more responsible travel choices was important and to give them the tools to make better decisions. We also wanted to help move the needle within the travel industry. We feel like we’ve achieved a significant amount (not least with the first season of our podcast) but there’s still much to be done.

“Every fire, flood and drought is a reminder that climate change is real and touches all of us — especially the local communities that are hit hardest”

As Gordon Smith, airlines editor at Skift told us in a recent op-ed , the question that he’s asked more than any other is whether the aviation industry can clean up its act and become genuinely sustainable. “The answer isn’t straightforward — and that’s part of the problem. Complexity hinders change.” This is why we’re offering everyone compelling, responsible travel options through our campaign. “We are living in a period that historians will likely ponder. Our love affair with flying has never been stronger, yet the evidence has never been so clear that it’s terrible for the planet. It is especially cruel to consider that it’s the communities least likely to have ever been on a plane that is being impacted the most by climate change.”

So what’s next? Well, to kick off the launch of the second phase of our sustainable travel initiative, we want to broaden the conversation through six new weekly podcast episodes — brought to you in partnership with Intrepid Travel — and a whole load of new articles to join our existing online travel hub . You could call it Sustainable Travel 2.0.

We will hopefully inspire you to take better trips — both for travellers and the destinations we visit. Anna Hart learns how community-driven projects in Belize make it the ultimate feel-good Caribbean destination for responsible travellers. David Cohen shows how conservation-funding wild safaris in southern Africa needn’t cost the earth . My Eco Weekender recommendations from Sussex to Somerset will tempt you with nature-positive stays, actively rewilding and regenerating biodiversity.

Travelling smarter is not just about lowering our carbon footprint (but yes, this is still key — as episode three of our podcast will reveal when we dive deep into slow travel). Experts such as Justin Francis assess what needs to be done in over-visited destinations, with global tourism set to double by 2050. “As visitors, we have a responsibility to the communities we join. We must protect the places we love, and capping tourism can be the right thing to do.”

Over the next six weeks, come with us on a podcast journey to experience the power of travel to support Indigenous communities, go slow while seeing more of Europe, travel through fiction with author Elif Shafak instead of flying, and discover how Ecuador is boosting biodiversity in the cloud forest as one of the most effective climate solutions.

Every Saturday our show will take you along for the ride, experiencing different ways of travelling that are doing good and seeing a host of destinations through the eyes of local experts and guides — like Tu who made our Vietnam experience so enlightening. Not all visitors have the benefit of hearing words like Tu’s, so they don’t get this insight into how travel done right can play a part in offering people from a country of almost 100 million an alternative to desperate measures. This is the kind of wisdom that we hope to share with you.

We hope, like us, you’ll love discovering the two-way benefits of our visiting further flung destinations — and you’ll be inspired to have transformative eco escapes close to home. Welcome to our all-new travel hub, for travellers who want every holiday pound they spend to build a better world.

The Standard’s new Sustainable Travel podcast launches on Saturday at 4pm; standard.co.uk/sustainable-travel