How to reduce your carbon footprint when travelling: 13 ways to travel better

Airports are promising future technology that keeps track of your luggage at every step of the process by tagging it with an identifier, which can be traced by you via an app. But with the global luggage crisis showing no signs of abating (220,000 bags were lost, damaged and delayed by US airlines in just one month this year) passengers will probably be vulnerable to luggage loss for a few more years yet. Some passengers are taking back a modicum of control by packing Apple AirTags and other GPS or Bluetooth trackers. But in the end these devices only tell you approximately where your luggage is, not how to retrieve it. The simplest answer now and in the future, is to travel with carry-on only. The bonus is that the lighter your luggage, the less your carbon footprint. Carry-on may not work for all trips but once you take the plunge you realise how convenient it is. You can do it.

HOLIDAY IN THE OFF SEASONS

Lower prices. Skipping the peak season crowds. Providing needed income to locals when there are fewer tourists. There are several reasons why low season travel is a good idea. And now there's weather to take into consideration. While warm weather has often been a big drawcard, the blistering heat waves we've seen this European summer are not a one-off. It's a trend that will accelerate, according to climate scientists. Travellers who avoid hot destinations in summer may find they need to avoid cooler ones too (Paris isn't that wonderful at 40 degrees). And we should all prepare for more storms, bushfires, floods and hurricanes which will disrupt travel with their unpredictability. Travelling off-peak means you are fighting for rescheduled seats with fewer people.

AVOID PLACES SUFFERING OVERTOURISM

Many communities have already had enough. Hawaii is begging tourists to stop visiting now the state has seen what life is like without hordes of tourists clogging roads and beaches.Venice has finally banned bigger cruise ships from entering the Lagoon. The Amalfi Coast has restricted car traffic and Maya Beach in Thailand has even closed to tourists indefinitely. A host of other popular countries and cities have started to listen to their residents and place restrictions on the number of visitors. Expect more of this. We can do our part by choosing the road less travelled – destinations that welcome tourists and survive mostly on tourist dollars (Fiji over Hawaii for instance.) And once there, not behaving as entitled but as if we are a guest in someone's home.

DO THE LOCOMOTION

Unfortunately, we can't take a train from Australia to London or New York – planes are involved – but we can make sure the land component of our journeys is by rail. It emits only a fraction of the greenhouse gas of air travel. Not all trains are alike – diesel trains emit twice as much CO2 as electric, for instance - but even these are a cleaner option than flying. Think about a long-distance train journey instead of a cruise or adding a shorter, three- or five-day trip via rail to your itinerary and use it as a way to get from point A to B. (The West Highland Line or The Glacier Express through the Swiss Alps for instance). If you have time, it is possible to train it through Asia, and connect to Europe. Increased numbers of high-speed trains in the future will mean a "slow" form of travel will also be the most efficient.

TAKE WHAT YOU NEED AND NOTHING MORE

As resources become scarcer, this simple rule is one of the most important guiding principles for the good traveller. There's still a lot of '"greenwashing" in the hospitality industry where hotels exaggerate their green credentials to better market themselves and it will get worse until it's constantly called out. But you don't have to be part of it. If the bathroom still has those small plastic bottles of shampoo and body wash, don't souvenir them, otherwise they'll be replenished and create more landfill. (An estimated 1.1 billion tonnes of plastic waste will flow into the oceans and landfill by 2040 if no action is taken.) Turn off the air-conditioning or turn it up a degree or two - you don't need an arctic room. Keep water use to a minimum. Use towels and sheets sparingly. Eat everything on your plate if you're at a buffet. Only open a plastic bottle of water if it's unavoidable. Let the hotel know what you think if it doesn't meet the standards it claims or you expect.

CRUISE MORE CONSIDERATELY

The cruise industry is pursuing net carbon neutrality by 2050 (a subject dealt with in more detail in this special edition) but it's going to take a lot of advances in engineering and a lot of regulatory oversight to get there. The small, expedition lines such as Aurora and Hurtigruten are steaming ahead with carbon neutral and hybrid-powered ships and Disney is switching to less polluting LPG but the seas are still ruled by the big, conventional, fossil fuel burning ships, which will become more like floating islands, cities or skyscrapers at sea, creating yet more emissions from powering all those restaurants, nightclubs and gaming rooms. The problem is not just the pollution – it's the effect of thousands of tourists at a time on local communities and ecosystems.

EMBRACE TECH, DON'T FIGHT IT

Travellers are already connecting with AI at every step of their journey, from chat bots answering questions (or driving us crazy not answering questions) on airline home pages to smart gates with facial recognition. Robotic assistants help us check in at airports. Hotels are mostly paperless, offering room service menus via QR codes. Countries like Sweden are cashless. Cryptocurrencies are now accepted in many places. In our hands are phones that hold a compendium of apps and let us into our hotel rooms with a digital door key. Destinations are starting to use augmented reality to provide graphic overlays that highlight key information on your phone. Virtual Reality is becoming commonplace for tours of resort suites, aircraft cabins, museums, and attractions. Future travel will be all about "personalisation" via algorithms, so travellers need to think now about what information they are prepared to give away and to whom.

Five more tips for how to travel well now (and in the future)

CHOOSE HUMAN-POWERED TRANSPORT WHEN YOU CAN

The pandemic saw a surge in active travel, including biking, hiking and running, as travellers combined outdoor recreation and fitness with their holidays. Walking is free and good for you and the world is better observed at a slower pace. There are bike paths and walking tracks in every destination.

TRAVEL LIKE IT WAS YESTERYEAR

Go slowly and go wild. Think of the joys you had holidaying as a kid. Restrict the devices. Immerse yourself in forests, deserts and wildernesses. Tune into nature and appreciate why we must protect it at all costs.

GET INVOLVED IN SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

As someone wise said, "the question isn't 'what will I do?' The question is, 'what does the world need from me?'" Whether you're on a lazy beachside holiday or a mountain trek, choose businesses and tour operators that empower local communities.

HOLIDAY AT HOME

Staycations seem so 2020 but there are still many nearby places that deserve a closer look or a return visit. Exploring your own backyard is one of the most sustainable ways to travel. And in Australia we're fortunate to have such a huge backyard.

TRY A LITTLE KINDNESS

And finally, travel with kindness. The pandemic saw new etiquettes in place around health and safety and brought with it some novel kinds of bad behaviour such as mask rage. It's possible the future of travel will test our patience and nerves even more. If someone is struggling, give them a break. You'll get the kindness returned in buckets.