The 7 Rs of Responsible Travel

Ethical, sustainable, and responsible travel is something that more and more people are caring about. And rightfully so! With the current state of the world, it’s more important than ever to make sure our travels are sustainable and ethical. There are many ways we can be more conscious and conscientious travelers, but it's overwhelming to know where to start.

That's why I created this list of the seven Rs of responsible travel, as a starting point for things to consider when you travel. These are the foundation for the new book I’m currently writing about responsible travel. There are two Rs to employ before the trip, three Rs to put into action during the trip, and two Rs to do after the trip. If you want your travels to have a positive impact on the world around you, read on.

You’ll be doing better than the average traveler even if you do just a few of these 7 Rs, or a little of each of them:

Before You Go

1. Research

One simple thing that many travelers never do before going to a country is a little bit of research—at least not beyond their itinerary and activities.

Research can begin even before you have decided where to go. Where can you travel in a way that is not going to negatively impact the destination, while at the same time giving you the kind of experience you want, within your available budget?

Once you know where you’re going, it can be extremely helpful to begin learning about your destination.

What behavior is appropriate—and inappropriate—in the culture of your destination? How should you dress—not only for the weather, but for the culture?

What are a few phrases you can learn in the local language to greet people, conduct basic transactions, and so on?

Getting a sense of the history and current events of your host country will also vastly enrich your trip.

Find a few books to read or listen to and learn about this place. Getting some background on the place before you go is going to make your trip so much more interesting as you will have some understanding of what you’re seeing when you get there.

What is the country’s history and relationship with countries like yours? Is it a former colony?

The sites you visit will have additional depth, meaning, and relevance the more you know before you go. You’ll have a jumping off point for more in-depth conversations with the locals about their country.

You can also research possible activities, currency exchange rates, what kind of budget to plan for, what to pack.

If you want to hire a tour company to handle all the details for you, research the options. Which ones are the most responsible and conscious of their impact?

For more about this topic, see my post: The First R of Responsible Travel: Research.

2. Rank

After you’ve researched tour companies or options for your own independent trip, rank your choices, asking yourself and others about the potential impact of each.

Where will you stay?

A large hotel chain or all-inclusive resort is going to send most of what you spend back to a wealthy country somewhere and is more likely to exploit the local resources and workers. A locally-owned hotel or private home stay is going to keep most of your money right there in the community where it can make a greater difference.

The same principle applies to restaurants, tour companies, animal-centric activities, cultural performances, and most any other activity involving people, animals, or the environment in any way.

Ask questions. Give preference to the venues and activities that will support the local economy and culture as much as possible and take good care of animals and the environment.

For more about this topic, see my post: The Second “R” of Responsible Travel: Ranking.

During Your Trip

3. Respect

You are a guest in someone else’s home. Someone else’s country. Treat it as you would the home of someone you respect.

Respect the local laws and follow the rules and instructions on posted signs.

Be courteous. This shows respect for your own culture, too. Make your countrymen and women proud. Too often people in other countries see our worst side – drunk, loud, brash, insensitive, or demanding. We’re not all like that. Show off the best of your own culture.

Everyone in your host country is your equal. Do not treat them as anything but that. Are the people in your host country “performing” for you just because you’re a tourist and they desperately need your money? Or are they willingly sharing their authentic culture, on their own terms?

Think about your use of photography, and how respect plays a role. Are you respectful in when to take–or not take–photographs? Are you asking for permission to take and share photos of people and their children and their personal spaces? Are you respecting their sacred places?

Respect the environment. This is important everywhere, of course, but some environments are more fragile and vulnerable than others. Be conscientious in your use of resources such as water and energy, especially in areas where they are severely limited.

Be tidy. Be careful about how much trash you generate. Limit single-use plastics and avoid purchasing products with lots of packaging materials. If you buy items for your trip, take them out of the packaging before you pack them.

4. Release

Release control and expectations, assumptions, and stereotypes. Be open minded. As you travel to foreign lands, you’ll need to be ready for some adventure, and willing to sit through some discomfort, which may arise quite unexpectedly from surprising places. Let go of your pride. Breathe through it, observe, learn.

You are not going to understand everything going on around you, especially if they speak a different language. It gets really weird when the writing system is different too, and you can’t even decipher the signs because they aren’t using our alphabet. It is literally like becoming a baby again, and it can be humbling.

The food, accommodations, facilities and infrastructure of your host country may not be what you are accustomed to, or up to the standards of your home country. If you are in a touristy area, the locals will probably be making every effort to accommodate you and make you comfortable, but when you leave the beaten tourist path, expect to have a taste of life a little closer to what the locals experience.

You’ll need to place a certain level of trust in people who may seem very different. This all may sound less fun than ‘normal travel,’ but it is actually far more fulfilling and rewarding in the long run. It’s an adventure!

5. Relate

Relate with the people. Spend time among the locals. Learn and share. Play with them—have fun together. Find common ground. Seek to understand. Try to build real connections and friendships.

This is where, in my opinion, the biggest benefit of travel lies…for everyone. This is the needle-mover when it comes to empathy, understanding, and ultimately, more peace in the world. This is where travel can make a difference.

After making real friendships, if you hear a blanket statement about people from a certain country, you go, “Wait a minute. I have friends from there. I know better. My experience shows me that there’s more to the story than that.”

Human connection is an essential ingredient for human progress. We’re all on this planet together, and it’s a beautiful thing when we can come together as friends to make it a better place.

After You Return

6. Reflect

Take stock of lessons learned while you were on your trip.

What surprised you?

Did you find that, without even realizing it, you had bought into certain stereotypes about a place or people group? Were any of these stereotypes brought into question based on your observations?

What is something that really impressed you? What did you see people doing that you thought was done especially well?

Was there anything that you found really disappointing, that didn’t meet the expectations you had?

How can you apply what you learned to your life?

Are there any customs or rituals you would like to incorporate into your personal life practice? Any changes in the way you might relate to friends and family, or to the environment, or in your workplace? Any new foods you’ll start eating more regularly? Anything that you’ll be more mindful of from now on?

How can you apply what you learned to your next trip?

Is there something you wouldn’t do next time that you did this time, or vice versa?

We can learn from our travels and bring more meaning from those travels into our daily lives and into our world.

7. Retell

How will you share what you saw with your friends, family, and wider audience back home?

Share your travel experiences in a responsible way that avoids perpetuating stereotypes.

You could have a fantastic trip and spend 10 days in a country with dozens of positive experiences, but what if you only talk about that one time someone picked your pocket in the market?

You might see a lot of middle class people going about their work as teachers, doctors, lawyers, shop owners, government workers and professional musicians…but what if you only talk about the beggars and the poverty you observed in the shanty towns?

The stories we share about our experiences create pictures in the minds of others. It is our responsibility to portray what we see in as balanced a way as we can so we don’t perpetuate the stereotypes that circulate about a country and its people. To tell more than just one narrative about a place.

What good does it do to perpetuate the kinds of stories that reinforce negative or dehumanizing views people have of another culture?

How can we share in a way that is going to actually make the world a better place?

I love the TED Talk by Chiminanda Ngozi Adichie on “The Danger of a Single Story.”

If you have not seen it, take a few minutes to watch it now. It’s well worth the time:

What’s Next?

After reading the overview of the seven Rs above, how are you feeling? Does it seem like responsible travel is within reach, or does it only seem more confusing and unattainable?

My hope is that the book I’m writing will provide some clarity and ideas. I am doing a much deeper dive into each of these 7 Rs with my book. However, you may feel like I did after finishing the RISE Travel Institute’s Flagship Program on responsible travel: like you have even more questions. And that’s okay.

I’m still learning, still asking questions. I hope that over time, we keep asking better questions, learning, and sharing our newfound knowledge as we go. And if we don’t manage to hit every single one of the Seven Rs when we travel, that’s okay. We are probably still doing better than those who aren’t thinking at all about the impact of their travel behaviors… and hopefully still making a positive difference and being positively impacted by our experiences, despite our mistakes and shortcomings.

I’d love to continue the discussion. Is there anything you would add to any of these 7 Rs? Can you think of another R (or any topic, even if it doesn’t start with R) that you’d add to the list? Is there something on my list you feel does not belong? Share your thoughts in the comments below!