WE’RE gently swaying at the door of my two-berth train cabin on our overnighter from Hanoi to Hue, enjoying a bucket-list travel moment. We’ve woken up to dawn gilded scenes of banana-tree-framed paddy fields, Buddhist pagodas, motorbikes stopped at rail crossings, a beautiful blur in the early morning light.
Tu, our Vietnamese guide, later reminds me and my travelling partner, podcast editor Jon Weeks, that as idyllic as the passing landscapes are, many here might have risked their lives to try to illegally migrate to perceived greener pastures if it weren’t for visitors like us.
Jon and I are in Vietnam to explore exactly this for the Standard’s latest sustainable travel podcast: how connecting in a more meaningful way with the places we go to and the people we meet there is a win-win for everyone.
International tourism means more Vietnamese can stay in their home villages, since trips such as ours are putting money in local pockets. You might ask what this has to do with sustainable travel, but sustainability is not just about carbon footprints. Despite the enormous pressure that emissions from flying place on the environment, travel is one of the most effective tools for climate solutions, driving positive change by helping communities such as the ones we’ve met in Vietnam to thrive and prosper. And this very human win-win sits alongside the importance of tackling global warming.
As you read this, symptoms of the climate emergency are everywhere — extreme heatwaves in India. Wildfires in Canada where smoke crossed the Atlantic to choke holidaymakers on the beach in Portugal. Catastrophic floods in Brazil, Kenya — even the UAE. And yet we’re seeing sustainability slip down the agenda. Booking. com’s survey of more than 31,000 holidaymakers found that while 75 per cent of respondents want to travel more sustainably, 49 per cent see sustainable options as expensive.
Esta historia es de la edición September 17, 2024 de Evening Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 17, 2024 de Evening Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
The era of longevity is almost upon us. But can our minds really keep up?
A post-ageing world is just around the corner, says longevity scientist AUBREY DE GREY, and it’s going to change the way we live
Hidden London
SECRET SPOTS YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO DISCOVER
How Christian Louboutin fell in love with Melides in Portugal
The wild beauty of this seaside village charmed the French fashion designer so much that he made it his home
Actor Millie Bobby Brown romances in Hyde Park, feasts at Sheesh and buys thelot at Harrods
Interview with Actor Millie Bobby Brown
How will Arteta manage without influential Edu?
Arsenal need smooth transition between eras just like Man City
"I had no one in Manchester apart from my PlayStation"
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was a young man rated among the country's most promising footballers when Manchester United came calling in the summer of 2019.
The battle for the soul of Soho
Inside the war between London's porn baron family and the council they say is killing the vibe
At the table: Sad steaks seasoned with despair
Fetch the smelling salts, you're in for a shock: A Restaurant Critic Hates a Famously Terrible Restaurant. Low-hanging fruit? Perhaps.
Class portrait Nobody else writes about middle England so acutely
Tessa Hadley's first novella depicts women in refreshing ways
How a tiny cult radio station in Hackney took over the world
I think the most obscure place I've had a listener email from so far was probably a guy in the Yukon,\" laughs Flo Dill, the host of NTS Radio's flagship morning show.
