The green mile

Is our wanderlust choking the planet? Is sustainable travel possible, even on luxe holidays? Lots to unpack before you plan your next epic vacation

-  Urvee Modwel

Adii Dande, 42, was on holiday in Sarajevo, Bosnia, in 2019, when she met a fellow traveller, a woman from the UK. "She carried her own foldable frying pan, and made all her meals in it," Dande recalls. "It fascinated me. That was the first time I thought about how I was travelling and wondered whether I was harming the environment, even if it was unintentional."

The Pune-based freelance writer and art business owner has visited 28 countries since 2016, and spends months planning one long vacation a year. "I book just one return-flight ticket, irrespective of  the number of countries and cities I visit. I book buses, trains or ferries between destinations. Within India, I avoid air travel as much as I can."

She also stays at backpacker hostels and makes the most of the ones that have attached kitchen gardens and provide basic ingredients and pots and pans for guests. "Unless there's a local delicacy that I really must try, I prefer cooking for myself with ingredients from local markets and small cooperatives," Dande says. "Many hostels and hotels clean the room only when guests ask. I think it's great! If I'm staying just for a couple of nights, I don't ask." 

Dande's travel plans are far removed from the group tours of the 1990s, the itinerary-packed packages of the 2000s and the selfie-driven trips of the previous decade. Booking.com and McKinsey's 2023 report, How India Travels, states that sustainable travel is a growing concern for Indian tourists. It's not the primary guiding factor in travel choices yet (cost usually is), but some Indians are starting to think of the environmental impact of middle-class wanderlust.

First steps