Sustainable Travel Series #1 — What An Extended Stay In Sicily Taught Me About Tourism
Sunday, September 27, is “World Tourism Day” and with everything going on in the world, it seems almost comical to think of tourism as a pressing issue. But the truth is that sustainable travel has become something of a buzzword during this period of geographic immobility. As overtourism was shortlisted as a 2018 Word of the Year, sustainable tourism is more important now than ever before, especially as we begin to envision the future of travel in a virus-stricken society.
Synonymous with eco-friendly traveling, sustainable tourism refers to maintaining consciousness about the decisions we make in terms of how we get places, what we use while we’re away, how we interact with a place that’s not ours, and what goes to waste, all in the name of vacation. In a consumer-driven world, it’s easy to travel selfishly with plans to hit all the must-see sites and check boxes off our personal bucket lists.
Venice, for example, seems to be on everyone’s radar, but those traveling to Venice often don’t think about the impact they have on the city. All-inclusive cruise ships crowd and pollute the water surrounding Venice (to the point where the government even brought up plans to ban ships!). Though cruise ships bring in tourists, those tourists don’t eat at any of the local restaurants or engage with the city. Why would they, when everything is concentrated back on their boat? As a result, Venice has had to accommodate excessive amounts of tourists with little economic gain. This is just one example of a problem many cities face, whether via cruise shops or other similarly quick forms of travel.
Despite all the setbacks the travel industry has faced over these past few months, the silver lining is this: with the coronavirus regulating, revamping, and even ruining our traditional notions of travel, tourists have become more selective about the way they move. Most people considering taking a trip right now have prerequisites that include staying in sanitized places, minimizing air/train/bus transit, and lingering for longer. Plus, as the few countries allowing American entry (ie. England) also require a two week quarantine period, it makes more and more sense to plan longer trips to fewer places. This selectivity lends itself to more thoughtful, productive, and efficient forms of travel.
Each time I’ve lived in Italy, I’ve done my best to stay in the country and the city in which I’ve set up residency. I certainly understand the desire to see as many places as possible when they’re so close and so accessible, but as the world changes, the way we look at travel must, too. My travel strategy has limited the number of countries I can say I’ve seen but it’s simultaneously introduced me to places and people impossible to know in just a quick visit.
Through a series of blog posts over the next few weeks, I want to hone in on longevity as the easiest way to practice sustainable travel. By this, I mean I will explore what happens when you revamp the ratio between the amount of time spent in a place and the amount of resources it takes to get there. In doing so, I will explore everything I’ve gotten out of my extended stays in singular cities. This list includes (but is not limited to): Italian friends, German friends, Russian friends, Austrian friends, new hobbies, free vegetables, Vespa rides, impromptu Italian botany lessons, an elevator run-in with the mayor of Palermo, mountain biking with the mayor of Abetone, and so on.
And hey — sustainable travel is more possible now than ever before. With everyone working from home, visiting a new city isn’t necessarily limited to one’s vacation days.