Sustainable travel can sound like one of those phrases that belongs on a hotel bathroom sign next to “please reuse your towel”.
But in South Africa, it means much more than saving water during your holiday.
At its heart, sustainable travel is about balancing people, planet and profit. It asks a simple question: when tourists leave, is the destination better off because they came?
South Africa formally introduced sustainable tourism into national policy through the 1996 White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism.
Since then, the idea has grown to include wildlife conservation, community development, responsible resource use and tourism that creates meaningful local jobs.
Take a safari. Seeing an elephant at sunrise makes for a great photograph, but sustainable wildlife tourism should do more than fill your camera roll.
Tourism revenue can support conservation areas, ranger teams, veterinary care and habitat protection.
Some tourism operators are taking this a step further by allowing travellers to participate in conservation work.
At Marataba Conservation Camps, for example, visitors can take part in rhino monitoring. In the Karoo, travellers can join conservation experiences involving cheetah tracking.
The rule is simple: if an animal encounter feels like something that belongs in a circus, think twice.
Sustainable tourism is also about where your money goes. South Africa’s history means that community ownership and economic inclusion are important parts of the conversation.
Choosing locally owned accommodation, restaurants and tour operators can help ensure that tourism income reaches the communities hosting visitors.
Bulungula Lodge in the Eastern Cape offers one example. The lodge is community owned and tourism income supports local development projects, including initiatives linked to education, water and renewable energy.
Then there is the less glamorous side of sustainability: water, electricity and waste.
South Africa has faced water shortages and power supply problems, pushing parts of the tourism industry to find creative solutions. Some lodges use solar power, rainwater harvesting and greywater systems. Others have introduced low-flow showers and taps to reduce water consumption.
In Cape Town, Hotel Verde has built sustainability into its operations through measures aimed at reducing energy use and waste.
But sustainable travel is not only about what hotels and lodges do. Travellers have a role too.
Choose businesses that can explain where their sustainability claims come from. Support local operators. Respect wildlife. Avoid attractions that allow inappropriate animal interactions. Carry a reusable water bottle where practical. Use water responsibly and think about how much waste you create.
You can also seek out destinations where conservation and communities are part of the tourism model.
iSimangaliso Wetland Park combines conservation with community development, while uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park protects important ecosystems and San rock art. Addo Elephant National Park offers another example of how tourism can support wildlife conservation across a large protected landscape.
The biggest misconception about sustainable travel is that it has to mean sleeping in a treehouse without WiFi. It does not.
It simply means travelling with a little more awareness and asking where your money goes, what your visit supports and what you leave behind.
Because the best souvenir might just be knowing your holiday helped protect the place you came to see.
lutho.pasiya@nationalmg.co.za