SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL
Transformed by travel Amid certifications and carbon measurement, it’s easy to lose sight of how the essence of travel can itself be a powerful force for good. Holly Tuppen explores the rising trend in transformational travel
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hen we pack our bags and leave the daily Having cottoned on to this and the rising trend in experienroutine behind, we’re often embarking on tial travel, some tour operators and experience providers now a personal journey as much as a physical one. incorporate a more profound sense of learning and change We don’t voice it much (what we’ve seen or into itineraries.The sincerest seek long-term change for clients. tasted is much more palatable small talk than Amid the shifting sands and glowing grasses of the Namiour spiritual state of mind), but this voyage of inner discovery bRand Nature Reserve in Namibia, conservation-led lodge Wolwedans reinvented its ethos during COVID-19’s pause, is what makes travel so compulsive and life-affirming. It’s also why travel has the potential to generate long-term emphasising consciousness and “the state of being aware and change, whether that’s creating a deeper connection with responsive to one’s surroundings”. New experiences include nature, seeing beyond cultural stereotypes or gaining fresh a Home and Heart tour, which explores their back-of-house perspective on our place in the world. sustainability ethos and activities such It’s an age-old concept. Our ancesas laying a stone circle or gardening at tors were nomadic, so getting from the onsite community-run nursery. “If we prepare our A to B wasn’t just an opportunity for Black Tomato’s Bring it Back trips imagination as carefully help renewal but an essential part of survival. travellers answer big questions, In the UK, it’s believed that people as we pack our bags, we including “How do I find a more travelled for self-renewal or reflection will experience, learn, sustainable lifestyle?”. In this case, the as far back as 5,000 years ago, given tour operator sends clients to Peru to the processional pathways along The and remember far more” learn about its indigenous and sustainRidgeway and other ancient trails to able food culture. By going with a quesand from Avebury’s stone circle. tion in mind, travellers are more likely A new term has helped refine the concept: transformational to take something important away with them. travel. According to the Transformational Travel Council For other specialists, the concept of transformation comes (TTC), this means to “intentionally travel to stretch, learn more naturally.The British Pilgrimage Trust invite people from and grow into new ways of being and engaging with the world”. all backgrounds and beliefs to “walk with intention” along Several years ago,TTC co-founders Michael Bennett and Jake local pilgrim routes. Co-founder Guy Hayward explains: Haupert combined their travel industry knowledge with ideas “A pilgrimage is walking with purpose, going on an outer jourCommunity from Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero’s Journey to create the ney to find a new inner direction.” He points out that we often centred HERO Travel Framework – to travel with Heart, fully Engaged, turn to yoga or silent retreats for a spiritual or personal journey, Spending time among indigenous practising Resolve, and Open to the unknown. In basic terms, but you can access those things through movement, too. communities and it means transformation can only happen when a traveller is At its simplest, transformational travel is about thinking joining them in open to learning before, during and after their journey. deeper and being open – a mindset critical to exploring respon- tasks that are part Of course, anyone who’s been backpacking or deliberately sibly. Pilgrim-travel author Phil Cousineau perhaps puts it best of their everyday life is one way to get headed into the unknown knows transformation is par for in his foreword to the Transformational Travel Journal: “The dirty another perspective the course. It’s not something you sign up to or tick off, but secret of travel is that so many go so far to feel so little. It does not have on the world and your a lingering aura that infiltrates your heart and mind every time to be this way. If we prepare our imagination as carefully as we pack consider place within it the senses are tickled or full-blown knocked off their feet. our bags, then we will experience, learn and remember far more.” As wonderful as the freedom of the open road is, our travels are often restricted by time. Spontaneity and open-mindedness can be sidelined for rigid plans and ambitious schedules. REALITY CHECK: EMPOWERMENT, NOT EXPLOITATION It’s important for travellers to be mindful. Make sure any community or The lure of social media doesn’t help. Travellers soon lose the indigenous group you visit has control over what experiences they host, and ability, time and space needed to transform – the reason most they do so willingly. If you’re unsure, quiz tour operators before booking. Look of us are drawn to adventure in the first place. Eric Rupp, the author of the Transformational Travel Journal, for an ethical tourism policy that outlines how they work with indigenous and explains: “The places we go, the activities we do, the people local groups or ask how they avoid exploitation and how tourism benefits we meet all matter and can have a deeply profound influence the host community. Responsible travel is a two-way exchange, and ideally, on us, but transformation is created from within. Travellers experiences should be as transformative for the host as they are for the guest. themselves create transformation.”
38 April/May 2022
