World Nomads is committed to sustainable and responsible travel encouraging its global travellers to reduce their environmental footprint and contribute to better travel practices, a key principle behind World Nomads’ Footprints Network.
Launched in 2005, The Footprints Network is aligned with the principles of Earth Day since it encourages people to travel responsibly and to support local community projects across the globe.
“We’ve been doing this for almost two decades,” said Christina Tunnah, general manager of marketing and brands, World Nomads. “It’s really a part of what we do and who we are. We look for charities that make a difference to communities and the environment. It’s about innovation and commitment, over a fairly long time.”
Earth Day (22 April), which dates back to 1970, is an opportunity for people around the world to demonstrate support for environmental protection. This year’s theme is Invest in Our Planet.
Following the 2004 southeast Asian tsunami, World Nomads created a program that put the ethos of responsible travel into action and founded The Footprints Network, which enables customers to make a micro-donation to a community development project when they purchase travel insurance.
Working with reputable charity partners, World Nomads continues to support projects around the world that meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
World Nomads covers all administration costs so that 100% of all micro-donations go towards the projects customers nominate. To date, The Footprints Network has enabled 1.9 million customers to raise more than $5 million to fund 261 global development projects.
The program supports vital projects including fighting the impacts of climate change on turtles in Panama; support for the provision of cataract surgery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the far north of Australia; and providing communities in Zimbabwe with clean water.
“We recently conducted a survey of visitors to our website and an impressive 85% said that travelling responsibly is important to them,” Ms Tunnah said.
“Our Footprints Network program makes it easy for customers to help communities around the world and have a lasting impact on the people and places they visit simply by making a small donation.
“We believe that taking out travel insurance is responsible travel behaviour. If you are sick or injured while travelling in another country, and end up needing hospital treatment, you should ensure you can pay for that treatment and not burden that country’s health system. That’s the right thing to do.
“A lot of our adventure travellers visit countries where the medical systems are already stretched. It’s incumbent upon travellers to ensure they are covered and can pay for medical treatment.”
World Nomads offers responsible travel tips:
- Consider when and how you travel
Booking a low-season trip can help offset over-crowding and spread tourism dollars throughout the year. Fly non-stop where possible and consider staying longer in one destination instead of flight-hopping, which is friendlier for the planet and allows travellers to go deeper in a destination;
- Buy travel insurance that includes emergency medical, evacuation and repatriation coverage. This avoids putting a strain on local medical resources, especially in rural areas. Travel insurance coverage can also help avoid under-resourced jurisdictions being stuck with unpaid medical bills;
- Travel with a responsible tour operator and/or stay in environmentally responsible accommodation. Look for locally-owned accommodation that will keep revenue in the community. And remember to tip hotel cleaners – even a few dollars can have a significant impact on low-wage earners;
- Use public transport where possible. Take the metro instead of ride share from the airport; enjoy the scenery from trains; consider a cycling holiday;
- Pack a reusable water bottle and shopping bags;
- Try eco-friendly toiletries like shampoo bars, menstrual cups and always use reef-friendly sunscreen.
- Consider offsetting carbon emissions on flights, or micro-donating to responsible charities;
- Eat at restaurants serving locally grown food, and avoid food made with vulnerable or endangered species (shark fin soup, turtle, Civet coffee);
- Shop responsibly – don’t buy anything made from endangered animals like turtle shells. Look for locally made and fair-trade goods;
- Give heavily visited destinations a break. Seek out lesser-known destinations such as state and national parks.
