🌍 Travelling ethically is not just a trend; it’s a necessity for preserving the beauty and diversity of our world. Hostelling International has been at the forefront of promoting ethical travel through its network of over 2,500 hostels in 58 destinations. We love helping travellers embark on their ethical journeys and have many ideas to simplify the process. In fact, we are a signatory of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative (GTPI), led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
The Global Tourism Plastics Initiative (GTPI) unites the tourism sector behind a common vision to address the root causes of plastic pollution. It enables businesses and governments to take concerted action, leading by example in the shift towards circularity in the use of plastics.
Although the pandemic delayed the process, and we took a few steps back, we still continue, together with many others in the hospitality industry, to stay faithful in our desire to contribute to eliminating the unnecessary use of plastics in tourism, especially in our network of hostels.
Back in 2018, two crucial motions were passed at the Hostelling International Conference reaffirming HI’s commitment in contributing to a sustainable world.
The first, to minimise, if possible ban, single-use plastics across all HI Hostels and the second, to reduce the ‘foodprint’ in all HI Hostels that offer food products.
The approval of these motions has allowed HI to start working on a strategy to help HI hostels around the world reduce their plastic and food waste through the provision of practical solutions, monitoring and target setting.
As a signatory of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, HI continues to encourage its Member Associations to eliminate, innovate and circulate the use of unnecessary and single use plastics through our HI Standards and the HI-Quality & Sustainability (HI-Q&S) Management System. HI also encourages its Member Associations and Hostels to join the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative and will continue to advise and support our hostels to better manage plastics and follow up on the ‘Say HI to a world without single-use plastics’ motion.
What can YOU do to bring your share?
- Travel with a refillable bottle
- Bring a reusable shopping bag.
- Pack a water purifier bottle.
- Carry your own cutlery.
- Avoid plastic containers when buying street food
- Don’t use single-use products
Through learning and adopting ethical travel practices, we can ensure that our adventures leave a positive impact on the places we visit. Enjoy planning your next trip together with Hostelling International and look forward to taking those steps on a journey that respects and celebrates the world we live in. Happy travels! 🌍
