Does travel raise awareness of the climate crisis?

Although travel has a significant environmental impact, it can also raise awareness of the climate crisis and encourage us to become more conscious and responsible explorers. Teritoria helps us navigate this dilemma.

1. Observe environmental changes

When we explore regions affected by the climate crisis, we witness its consequences firsthand: melting glaciers, islands threatened by rising sea levels, forests ravaged by fire. These concrete examples can sharpen our awareness. Seeing climate change with our own eyes can prompt deeper reflection on the need to act, and to rethink how we live.

2. Understanding the vulnerability of local communities

Travel can also help us understand how local communities are directly affected by climate change. By engaging with locals, we witness how these changes deeply impact their lifestyles, economies, and food security. This awareness of human vulnerability can inspire us to act, by supporting positive initiatives and rethinking the way we travel. It can also encourage more responsible choices, such as choosing establishments that are committed to supporting the local economy and that place human relationships at the heart of their work. This is the vision of travel that Teritoria promotes through its community of hoteliers, restaurateurs, and travellers.

3. Get involved in sustainable practices

A growing number of companies in the tourism sector are adopting sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint. These examples can inspire us to embrace a more environmentally friendly lifestyle in our daily lives. All the properties selected by Teritoria share a commitment to sustainability, a key criterion for inclusion in our guide. In 2024, each of them pledged to calculate the carbon footprint of their activities using the Clorofil calculator, and to reduce their impact by managing consumption, cutting waste, and prioritising local products, good practices that we can all apply at home.

4. Be aware of your carbon footprint

Travel, especially by air, accounts for a significant share of global carbon emissions. Becoming aware of our travel footprint can encourage us to reduce unnecessary trips, choose less polluting modes of transport like trains or bicycles, or offset our emissions by supporting reforestation projects. Teritoria, for its part, is committed, on behalf of and alongside its members, to financing agroforestry projects in rural areas of France and Italy.

5. Discovering local solutions

Every region of the world faces specific challenges related to climate change, and solutions vary depending on geography. Travelling can help us discover the responses already in place, and adapt them to our own context. Austria, for example, has introduced the ‘KlimaTicket’, which allows unlimited bus and train travel across the country for just €3 per day. A concrete step toward promoting sustainable mobility.

6. Learning and raising awareness

Many tourist sites and museums now offer exhibitions on climate change and biodiversity. It’s often also possible to visit nature reserves managed by local associations. Travel can therefore be a powerful opportunity for education and awareness. It allows us to learn about the causes and consequences of climate change, and to explore possible solutions.

7. Promote responsible tourism

By becoming aware of the environmental impact of our adventures around the world, we’re more inclined to support and promote responsible tourism. We’re more likely to choose destinations and businesses that actively commit to sustainable practices, a mission that Teritoria embraces through the first guide to committed and engaging hospitality in Europe. This helps build collective awareness and supports the growth of sustainable tourism.

8. Inspire others

When we return home with a heightened awareness of environmental challenges, we often become informal agents of change within our communities. The experiences and stories we share can influence those around us, and even reach further through social media.

Conclusion

There’s no denying that travel can raise awareness of the climate crisis, by exposing us to its environmental impacts and to the challenges faced by local communities. It also introduces us to sustainable practices, makes us conscious of our own carbon footprint, highlights local solutions, and deepens our understanding. As informed travellers, we can become agents of change and inspire others. Yet these benefits must be weighed against the emissions generated by travel itself. Responsible tourism offers a path forward, one that Teritoria promotes through a selection of properties that meet essential criteria: respect for the environment and workers, a spirit of curiosity, and a true sense of hospitality.

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