Sustainable travel: Squeezing the carbon out of a luxury trip

Set on an island in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, the verandas fronting Xigera Safari Lodge’s 12 luxurious guest suites provide sweeping views of floodplains teeming with wildlife. But on another island at the rear of the property, an entirely man-made marvel is also garnering attention.

Its perfect right angles contrasting starkly with the surrounding grassland, a 1,140-panel Tesla solar photovoltaic system fulfills most of Xigera’s energy needs, including the charging of electric game-drive vehicles. This is said to save around 173,000 litres of diesel fuel each year, preventing the release of nearly 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Renewable power generation is just one of the sustainability-minded features that have established the opulent lodge as a venue for several “Make Travel Matter” experiences offered by the Lion World Travel tour company since 2021.

By achieving 11 of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), these independently vetted experiences “benefit communities through either environmental or social justice,” explains Shannon Guihan, chief sustainability officer for The Travel Corporation (TTC), Luxury Gold’s parent company. This kind of vacation packaging, Guihan adds, “makes it very easy for guests to check under the hood when it comes to sustainability, and to verify travel providers’ claims.”

Indeed, travel transparency is becoming a priority for many affluent globetrotters. According to a 2022 survey conducted by the Virtuoso network of luxury travel agents, 80 per cent of wealthy travellers said they want to travel more responsibly, with 75 per cent saying they are willing to pay more to do so, especially if it’s clear how the money will be used.

The purchasing power of wealthy travellers makes them especially influential, Guihan says.

“Everyone’s going to say they want to be more sustainable because it makes them look good in the moment. But as more purchasing decisions favour businesses prioritizing sustainability, the more rapidly we will see the global transition toward sustainability take place.”

With some of the most luxurious experiences also being among the most sustainable, travelling sustainably doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing luxury. What it does mean, Guihan says, is that travellers must do the research needed to identify and select the most sustainable options — or must ensure that someone else is doing this research for them. To that end, TTC and upscale travel companies such as Butterfield & Robinson, the Travel Edge Network, and Geluxe — the luxury travel arm of G Adventures — publish regular reports detailing policies and initiatives variously described as sustainable or responsible.

Culled from those reports, the following actions are designed to help wealthy individuals travel as sustainably as possible.

Choose low carbon transport

With transportation typically accounting for the lion’s share of any trip’s carbon footprint, prioritizing low- and zero-emission modes of transport is key. This can mean taking the train for trips closer to home and within destinations, selecting electric vehicles (EVs) when renting cars, and walking or cycling as much as possible. Tour operators are also finding ways to reduce emissions. London’s Evan Evans Tours, for instance, recently introduced the UK’s first zero-emission coach for guided day trips.

As well as booking non-stop flights and using online tools like Google Flights to compare flights by carbon emissions, air travellers should favour carriers such as Emirates, SWISS, Air France and KLM, which are prioritizing the use of sustainable aviation fuel to reduce CO2 emissions. It’s also worth noting that newer aircraft, like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A-350 900, are more fuel-efficient than older models.

And forget about private jets, Guihan says. “That’s a big change the wealthiest travellers need to make. There are loads of countries talking about banning private jets when there’s extremely comfortable train service available.”

Travel slowly, but efficiently

Spending more time in fewer places, and planning itineraries that minimize travel distances to reduce transport emissions, is another important step. For instance, Butterfield & Robinson has publicly committed to “designing trips that promote longer, more immersive experiences while decreasing overall transfers.”

Support local economies and ecosystems

Another vital step involves keeping tourism dollars in a community by booking locally owned accommodations, hiring local guides, engaging in community-based tourism, choosing providers that employ local people, purchasing goods from local artisans, and dining in locally owned restaurants where dishes are made with local ingredients.

Many luxury travel companies go a step further by donating to community development projects and conservation initiatives in the areas where they operate, and by encouraging their guests to do likewise.

“For those travellers who can afford it, providing an endowment, grant or donation to local organizations can be far more impactful than anything to do with travelling sustainably,” Guihan says.

Minimize waste

From garbage disposal to heating and cooling, sustainable tourism companies publish concrete details about waste reduction measures. At the same time, travellers can make a difference by making small changes: using apps for travel documents, bringing reusable water bottles, turning down the heat/AC in hotel rooms, declining daily housekeeping, and taking shorter showers.

Get off the beaten path

Combatting overtourism means choosing less popular destinations and visiting during the off-season or non-peak hours. This not only reduces strain on local economies and helps to distribute tourism benefits more evenly, it also often yields mellower and less-crowded experiences.

Engage in low-impact activities

Favouring activities such as hiking, cycling, walking tours and non-motorized water sports reduces carbon emissions, while refraining from touching, feeding or disturbing wildlife, as well as from taking part in exploitative activities, helps to prevent environmental, social and economic damage.

Offset your carbon footprint

Buying carbon offsets compensates for unavoidable travel emissions by offering a straightforward way to invest in climate initiatives around the world, like reforestation or renewable energy. This can be done by measuring emissions from air, road or boat travel with a carbon footprint calculator and purchasing the equivalent offsets.

Look to certified travel advisors

Luxury travel agents take the legwork out of planning and booking trips, but they can also play key roles in ensuring that journeys are sustainable. To find advisors and agencies that are educated on their suppliers’ sustainability initiatives and committed to planning responsible travel, look for those that have earned certifications such as Green Key, Travelife, Green Globe, EarthCheck and Biosphere. Guihan, for her part, encourages wealthy travellers to use TTC’s recently launched “Make Travel Matter Checklist” to help plan sustainable journeys.

“It’s a great resource to share with friends and colleagues to help make a collective difference,” she says. “Whether you are an experienced globetrotter or a first-time explorer, the checklist is straightforward yet covers pre-trip planning, what to do while traveling, and other impactful ways to support a destination and the local communities you visit.”

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