In this Post
Follow the Rules
Don’t Litter
Respect Other Cultures
Learn a New Language
Try Local Cuisine
Explore with Locals
Maintain Hygiene
Do you like visiting new places, learning about different cultures, and exploring natural sites around the world? If yes, then you’ve landed on the right blog. There are certain things you can do to enhance your travel experience like preparing your home for the time you’re away to keep it secure and creating a travel-bucket list beforehand so you don’t have to rush your decisions. Moreover, you can also try working on ways to travel responsibly and sustainably. So, to help you develop a better understanding of the key responsibilities of a traveller, we’ve come up with this piece. Here we will discuss some important tips to be a responsible tourist and how you can work on them to make the most of your trip.
Let’s get the ball rolling!
Key Tips to Be a Responsible Tourist
Whether local or international, all forms of travel are healthy. It is rightly said that travel is food for the soul and fuel for the mind. This means you should not hold yourself back from pursuing your passion to travel. Nevertheless, the thing is, you should do it in a sustainable way.
So without further ado, let’s get to the list of some useful tips on how to be a responsible tourist.
- Play by the Rules
- Don’t Litter
- Be Respectful of Other Cultures
- Try to Learn the Local Language
- Appreciate the Local Food
- Go Exploring with Locals
- Stay Hygienic
Play by the Rules
Your responsibility as a tourist begins as soon as you set foot in whatever means of transportation you are using. Upon arriving at your desired destination, whether it’s a bus stop, a railway station or an airport, make sure you are aware of the rules and regulations being followed there.
You may not want to ruin your trip by getting into any kind of trouble by breaking any of the rules or not adhering to the policies. One of the key tips on how to be a responsible tourist is to be punctual. This is how you won’t find yourself running late or missing any of your transportation schedules. It is also one of the key principles of travelling responsibly.
If your travel package already has local guide services, then consider your problem solved. They can give you all the key information about the local culture of your travel destination. Otherwise, it is important for you to make some connections with the locals. They may help you in a lot of things. For instance, they can guide you about how you can go shopping or visit a restaurant in their hometown. You can even ask them to accompany you.
Don’t Litter
It is often observed that places with large numbers of tourists have trash lying around. It’s obviously not a good practice and leaves a bad impression of tourists on locals. So, if you’re visiting an urban attraction, you can easily find a litter box somewhere near you that can be used.
However, one of the most useful ways to be a responsible tourist in this regard is to carry something that can hold your trash, at least, when you are out or moving. This will also keep you from littering when you go exploring a natural site where you may not easily come across a trash bin. Littering is considered rude and disrespectful so avoid doing as much as you can.
Be Respectful for Other Cultures
The country or place you’re visiting may have a different culture and traditions than yours. As a responsible tourist, the very first you should do in this regard is to start by learning their basic cultural etiquette.
Furthermore, you can do a little research about the culture of the place you’re visiting beforehand. It is also one of the most useful ways to be a responsible tourist.
Pro Tip: If you want to take photos of some cultural or traditional elements to keep it as one of your trip’s memories, you should ask for permission first. It’s among the basic etiquettes you should follow if you don’t want to offend anyone on your trip.
Try to Learn the Local Language
There’s nothing more you can do to respect other cultures than speaking in their own language. However, if you want to make the most of your tour, learn the locally spoken language. In some countries, you may find it hard to communicate in English as people around you may not be speaking it.
In such a case, you can learn a few phrases that are used the most. This is how you can overcome the language barrier to some extent. It may also help you communicate with the locals and get around places.
Appreciate the Local Food
Food is considered an important part of local traditions around the world. This means along with respecting the cultures, we should also appreciate the local cuisine. The best way to do it is to share or have a meal with the locals. You can also consider it among important tips for every responsible traveller if you want to spread goodwill.
You can tell them whether you find their food unique or similar to the ones you have back home. Furthermore, you can also ask about the meals they have on different occasions, their history and also share your side of the story on the same.
Meanwhile, you may also be interested in reading about some of the best halal-friendly destinations around the world.
Go Exploring with Locals
As discussed, if you don’t have a travel guide to accompany you, you can always ask locals to help you out exploring if you have successfully made some good connections. This is how you can make the most of your trip.
If you have locals accompanying you on your journey, travelling becomes more enjoyable. They may know the best routes and all the shortcuts to get you to your destination. No matter if you are travelling with the locals who are aware of the routes, you should always carry a map just to be on the safe side. This is also one of the key tips to be a responsible tourist.
Pro Tip: You should also try to invest in locally made products as a sign of goodwill. For example, you can buy souvenirs crafted by the local people. When shopping for souvenirs, make sure not to buy anything that is made of endangered species like ivory or coral accessories. This is one of the key things to bear in mind for travelling responsibly
Stay Hygienic
Staying hygienic is one of the most important tips for every responsible traveller. You can carry a small sanitising kit along with you while you’re on the move. It should contain items like hand sanitiser, gloves, facial mask, tissues, and liquid hand soap. It is very important for you to stay germ-free as you would never want to fall sick away from your home.
Owing to the on-going pandemic situation, you may need to take extra safety precautions while travelling to countries that are affected the most. This may also include sanitising your hands again and again, wearing gloves and mask all the time, and maintaining a distance of at least six feet from other passengers.
These were some of the most useful tips to be a responsible tourist. We hope they will help you make your future journeys more enjoyable and sustainable.
In case, you are aware of some other key responsibilities of a traveller that we may have missed out mentioning in our piece, let us know about them at blog@zameen.com.
On a side note, you may also be interested in reading our travel guides on destinations within Pakistan including Deosai National Park, Swat Valley, Ziarat Valley, and Broghil Valley. You can also take a look at our travel guides on Turkey, Egypt, and Azerbaijan.
To explore some of the most incredible under-the-radar tourist destinations in Pakistan, keep reading Zameen Blogs. Also, don’t forget to become a subscriber of our e-newsletter to start receiving daily updates from our blog section.
