Travel and sustainability by default don’t go hand in hand. If you have to fly somewhere or drive long distances you are contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. That’s why staycations have been a priority for ecologically-minded people. Traveling local reduces your carbon footprint and lets you support the people and businesses close to your home.
But travel is an industry that holds together the economies of some countries like Thailand and Egypt. Two of our favorite places. Plus, it’s fun. And what if you are a writer who makes a living writing about travel? Get out there, but do it sustainably.
Tips for working as a writer in sustainable travel
Finding jobs
If you are looking for work as a writer –– don’t worry –– ChatGTP still hasn’t taken over the world –– or your job. Creative, knowledgeable people in multiple languages are sought after across a wide range of outlets in the writing and journalism fields. Sites like Topcontent hire writers in the travel space and this site focuses on niche areas and non-English content as well. If you aren’t strong in English, but write well and have a passion for writing and travel, this site is for you.
If you dream about being a digital nomad, it doesn’t mean you have to work as a travel writer, but it sure can be fun. There are plenty of Facebook groups that offer writing gigs for travel writers. Digital Nomads on Facebook is a place where we found writers for Green Prophet and even if you aren’t in the position to travel, you will learn that you can write about your hometown or favorite city like no one else on the planet. Take your school assignments from college or university and do it in the place in situ if you are learning over Zoom working with a tutor to do my physics homework.
Finding the muse
Another tip for you is to hone in on your passions. Here are some tips and ideas for you to explore: If you like food, start writing about the best restaurants for locals. Think about ones that use local, seasonal ingredients and which tell the story of the place. This kind of content helps travelers be easier on the planet by eating healthier. Tourists often get stuck hungry at landmark sites and after reading bogus Yelp reviews end up eating low-quality junk food served on plastic that many locals would never touch.
A good way to start writing is to approach the topic like you are speaking to your best friend when you were 12-years-old. This way you explain the idea in a way that is easy-going and colloquial, you will say things honestly and you will write in a way that a 12-year-old can understand. No one needs complicated words to make a point.
Getting of the house is never a bad idea. Even travel writers love to lie in bed and wait for the world to come to them. Just because you crave exotic locations and food, getting out of bed when you have arrived to your destination is the next step. Dust off your barefoot shoes, turn over new stones, and go to the opposite path of the travellers and tourists before you.
Deciding what is eco – you can be the judge
Most travel resorts and guest houses around the world aren’t calculating their carbon footprints. If you stay at a family-run guest house in Calcutta and ask them how eco-friendly their rating is, they might have no idea what you are talking about. But it’s eco to support family-run guest houses, just like it’s eco to travel to Chiang Rai and stay with the Hill Tribe people.
On the other hand there are large “eco” resorts on Phuket, Thailand like the Keemala, where we stayed last year (and it’s one of the best places we have ever visited), and they can send you a sustainability rating and eco-process they created and designed to help the jungle and the local population. Use common sense: it goes without eco-credentials, that small family businesses are more sustainable than large resorts.
Lastly, if you travel to a place boasting about it’s eco credentials, ask them about power use, water reuse and plastics. Ask them about employee salaries, benefits and time off. You can decide if the credentials are real or just a marketing tactic.
Good luck and enjoy your trip.
