Thoughtful Traveller Day 2024

We were interested to see that 12th August 2024 is ‘Thoughtful Traveller Day’. Although a somewhat overused PR idea, awareness days can be a helpful reminder to reflect on our habits. 

What is Thoughtful Traveller Day?

By 2021, the global tourism industry had lost 1.78 trillion Euros due to the pandemic. Economies that depend on tourism were impacted the most, with many businesses closed and jobs lost. 

Since the pandemic, some businesses have returned and need the support of tourists and travellers to ensure they survive future economic shocks and continue to recover from the impact of the pandemic. It’s important to spend your money mindfully when travelling and where possible support local small businesses.

Why is it important to support local businesses?

When we visit a country and choose to support local businesses, we are directly supporting local communities. Large brands can be guilty of unethical labour practices, cheap production and unsustainable supply chains: and often the money we spend with these companies is not invested locally. Large international chains will often employ people who aren’t local to the country you’re in, source labour and materials from other global firms and therefore not invest in local trades or people. 

If you choose to support local businesses, they are more likely to employ locals and use ingredients from regional farmers or materials from nearby suppliers. This means the revenue they make is kept within the community and supports other small businesses. 

Communities depend on the success of small businesses to thrive and support the livelihood of the local people. Supporting local communities is an important part of travelling sustainably and helping to have a positive impact.

How can I support small businesses when I travel?

We’ve gathered some ideas that could help you positively impact local communities when you travel:

• Stay in locally owned hostels, hotels and homestays and leave positive reviews when you have a good experience to help these businesses attract more visitors
• Eat at local restaurants: try out traditional dishes and local cuisines and share photos to encourage others to do the same 
• Support local food markets or farmers’ markets and visit local bakeries and cafes
• Attend a cooking class hosted by a local and learn more about local ingredients and popular dishes
• Go on a local food tour or street market experience: try new foods and support the chefs and venues you visit
• Consider buying any souvenirs from local artisans or make your own by visiting arts and crafts workshops hosted by local makers 
• Make sure you use local tour guides and book tickets to sites you visit with small businesses rather than internationally-owned travel agencies
• Use public transport to keep the environmental impact of your travelling as low as possible: avoiding polluting local areas with too much traffic
• Go on a walking tour with a local guide when you visit the historical sites, museums and attractions 
• Go to art shows, local performances, music nights, festivals and gatherings to support local creatives and emerging artists/musicians

73% of consumers say they trust a local business more if it has positive reviews.

Leaving a review for a small business while abroad can mean the difference between them winning or losing a customer so it’s always worth your time to leave a positive review and inspire other travellers to shop, eat or visit there.

What do we do to encourage ‘thoughtful travellers’?

At WorkingAbroad, we take action for nature and society seriously, and since we were founded in 1997, have made a firm commitment to balance the benefits and the social and environmental challenges of travel. 

Volunteering for a local organisation while travelling abroad has become increasingly popular in the past years. This also means that more and more organisations and companies have found an opportunity to earn a lot of money in this particular market. While you as a future volunteer can have the best intentions to support and be part of a given organisation or programme, it doesn’t always mean that those projects you decide to support have the same honourable intentions.

WorkingAbroad has been working with volunteers since 1997 and our main objective is to offer meaningful opportunities to volunteers, who want to make an actual difference in a local community. We place high importance on the quality of the local organisations that we partner with. Our partners are always fully registered, on-the-ground respected operators with well-trained staff, who will support the volunteers before and during their stay.

We are committed to taking action for nature and society and firmly believe that doing good for our fellow living beings offers a natural sense of accomplishment, pride and identity. 

At WorkingAbroad, we want to provide as many opportunities as possible for people to work together to support society and nature: and encourage you to keep that in mind, when you embark on your thoughtful travels – good luck!

Written by WorkingAbroad Blogger Sarah Cook