Ellie and Ravi Make Sustainable Tourism An Achievable Goal

It’s a well-known fact that international travel comes at a cost. According to the World Tourism Organization, sustainable tourism is “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities.”

As we grow more aware of our negative impact on the planet, sustainable travel becomes less of a niche and more of a necessity.

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We’re dealing with culture shock as we settle in to our new life away from the farm – we left the Scottish Highlands at the beginning of the week at the end of our Wwoofing placement on the farm. ⁣ ⁣ We’d hoped that we might be able to explore Scotland a bit before heading south – as truth be told the only time we got to explore away from the immediate area around the farm was on our weekly grocery shopping trips – but the timing was not on our side this time. The lockdown measures in Scotland have been eased far less than in some countries, and even compared to in England, and going for a little jaunt around Scotland at this time would have been irresponsible to say the least. Scotland – as always – you’re unfinished business, and we’ll be back! ⁣💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ⁣ We’re now back south in England, on the Sussex coast where we’ll be for a while, trying to adapt to the culture shock of being in a busy town and waking up to noise from our neighbours rather than the sounds of the farm cockerel. ⁣ ⁣ Our journey south was surreal to say the least – a mixture of ghost town and complete disregard for social distancing of any kind. ⁣ ⁣ We’re missing the Scottish scenery and air for sure, but we have plenty more photos from time on the farm to share with you over the coming days 😉 ⁣ ⁣ How’s everyone bearing up as lockdowns ease? ⁣ ⁣ #lockdownlife #wwoof #visitscotlandlater #yourscotland #scotland_ig #Scotlandhighlands #scotlandtravel #scotland_lover #lovescotland #scotlandexplore #scotlandphotography #scotlandshots #ig_scotland #unlimitedscotland

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British-Indian couple Ellie and Ravi will teach you how it’s done. Through their website and Instagram page, Soul Travel Blog, they share stories of mindful travel, helping conscious travelers find the most inspiring options for their next sustainable trip—to India or around the world.

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The indigenous people of Lapland (or Sapmi in the Sami Language) – the Sami people – span Norway, Sweden and Finland as well as parts of Russia and have lived for generations within the arctic circle. ⁣ ⁣ The Sami population across these four countries is estimated at around 80,000 today, with around 2,600 Herders – such as Lars here – working as Reindeer Herders. ⁣ ⁣ As for many indigenous cultures around the world, life has not always been easy for the Sami. In the attempted “christianisation” of europe throughout recent centuries, Sami shamanic beliefs and practices were labelled as witchcraft, and for much of the 20th Century the Sami Language was banned: Leaving Sami children who wanted to go to school punished if they attempted to speak their native language. ⁣ ⁣ In recent years, thankfully, things are changing for the better as rights for the Sami are being recognised, and the culture begins to be more celebrated by others – thanks in part to the role of tourism. The Sami people have their own government which works together with the Swedish and other Scandinavian governments and supports their rights across the Sapmi region. ⁣ ⁣ In our coming posts we’ll be sharing more about the life of the Sami – and what we can learn from them. ⁣ ⁣ Have you heard of the Sami people and their culture? ⁣ ⁣ Shot on a hosted trip with: @womenadventuretravel @swedishlapland @visitsweden @poweredbyadventure_ ⁣ ⁣ #lifeinswedishlapland #atws2019 #soultravelmoment

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“We believe that travel is one of the best tools for personal expansion and consciousness that we have, but at the same time we know that we need to care about the impact of our travel,” they write on their website, which includes guides and articles that explore the best eco-friendly and responsible travel options in a destination, showing that travel really can be a win-win.

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Do you plan breaks on your travel? ⁣ ⁣ Needing a break from travel might sound like a crazy idea – we thought so too when we first started travelling. But since we started travelling more often, and especially working at the same time, we quickly realised we were going to loose our sanity if we didn’t slow down. Now we know that every few days we need to plan to do nothing and have extra time to catch up on work and generally being connected to the digital world again. ⁣ ⁣ Much as our families think we’re on holiday all the time, that isn’t quite true 😉 ⁣ ⁣ We loved Alleppey (despite its houseboat woes) for being that place in Kerala where we slowed right down. We spent 10 days here in a simple homestay and enjoyed catching up on work, wandering around town, searching for the best Kerala Thali (yum) 😋 and evening strolls on the beach. That probably gave us a different perspective of Alleppey than if we would have passed through spending only a couple of days. ⁣ ⁣ After all, the longer you linger in a place, the more it changes your perspective. ⁣ ⁣ Have you found that to be true of anywhere you’ve visited? ⁣ ⁣ ————⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ NEW: Share your Soul Travel moments with us by using & tagging #soultravelmoment for your chance to be featured! ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ————⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ #kerala #keralagram #godsowncountry #alleppey #backwaters #keralatourism

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All of the travel experiences and companies they write about work towards creating more positive-impact, sustainable, and responsible tourism. From eco-lodges doing their best to be self-sufficient, to community projects that seek to address gender inequalities in remote parts of the world—the two seasoned travelers are looking to highlight experiences that help create a positive difference.

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Travel and Personal Growth. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Travelling to find yourself might be one of the biggest cliches around, but in our experience, there’s generally a good reason cliches exist! ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Travel can be one of the best tools for personal growth out there: It allows us to open ourselves to new experiences, new challenges, to and to confront that which is no longer serving us, too. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Far from “running away from it all”, travel can be one of the most confronting experiences. In the middle of a new place, we suddenly find ourselves facing… ourself. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Travel has allowed both of us to become better versions of ourselves, although we’ve met many challenging and even painful moments along the way. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ That said: To travel to grow we don’t need to go to the ends of the world, sit in silence for weeks and months, or meditate in the himalayas (not that there’s anything wrong with these things). ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Travelling to grow could be as simple as taking a weekend away or retreating into nature in your own country / state. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Tell us: When’s a time you’ve experienced personal growth through travel? Where did you go? ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ————⁣⁣ ⁣ NEW: Share your Soul Travel moments with us by using & tagging #soultravelmoment for your chance to be featured! ⁣⁣ ⁣ ————⁣⁣ #soi #varanasi #varanasidiaries #varanasiindia #inspiroindia #iiframe #indiatravel #incredibleindia #igramming_india #mumbai_igers #_soi #indiaview

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“On this blog we cover a range of travel budgets,” they write, “from backpacking and overland travel, to a luxurious treat. What’s more important to us, is: is it sustainable? We work to highlight which the more sustainable options are for travel, whether it costs pennies or hundreds of dollars.”

Follow their tips and tricks.