How To Travel With Respect and Honor the Local Culture
Engage with residents • Open your mind • Learn basic phrases • Respect sacred sites • Release entitlement • Avoid geotagging • Respect nature • Give wildlife space • Wear reef-friendly sunscreen • Drive respectfully • Be selective about lodging • Support local businesses • Give back • Pay locals fairly • Fall back on the Golden Rule • Accept that you’re an outsider • Understand the tension • Maintain an ongoing dialogue • FAQ
Conscious travel is a bit of an art form. While no one expects you to do it perfectly, a few kind gestures can show locals you care.
When done well, travel benefits all involved. Communities get a flush of tourism dollars and travelers get to relish a rich experience abroad. It’s a little give, a little take. Everyone goes home happy. True symbiosis.
Yet all too often, locals get the short end of the stick. Far after the vacation is over, communities have to contend with trashed beaches, vandalism, inflation, and depleted resources. It’s no wonder the travel season leaves a bitter aftertaste.
While you may feel powerless to change the collective problems of overtourism, there’s plenty you can do on an individual level. Respectful travel comes down to three core tenets: awareness, empathy, and a flexible attitude.
Engage with the residents
It’s normal to want to stay inside your comfort zone, especially when you feel intimidated by a culture or you don’t speak the language.
It’s easy to stay within the confines of your resort, travel group, or nomad community. But keeping too tight a circle can prevent cultural exchange. And that’s one of the reasons you’re traveling in the first place, yes?
Locals are the gateway to a deeper understanding of the culture, customs, and history of a place. Meaningful interactions can broaden your horizons, shift your perspective, and dissolve stereotypes on both sides.
It’s also a great way to forge new friendships and get off the beaten path. You may end up on a beach you’ve never heard of, or find yourself digging into a pastry better than any you could have found on the main street. It’s not just the place that makes travel worth it—it’s the people.
Open your mind to other views
Whether you agree with how a place operates or not, try not to judge. Take the time to listen to other points of view and ask questions. You might learn something new.
When I did a year abroad in Dublin, for example, it drove me nuts that people arrived 45 minutes late, or more, to social events. This led to some tense interactions, as I come from a culture that prefers to be on time (preferably 10 minutes early). Over the course of my time abroad, though, I came to appreciate this more relaxed attitude around time. Ever so gradually, I became less uptight.
It was me who needed to change—not the locals. Now, I try to approach interactions from a different headspace: “I hope to be proven wrong today.” An open mind is a game-changer.
Learn some of the language
How would you feel if someone knocked on your door, asked you a question in another language, then got visibly upset when you didn’t understand?
Though it may sound unreasonable, this exact scenario happens way more than you think. Europeans often cite Americans for this disrespectful behavior, demanding that others speak English when it’s not the primary language.
At the very least, locals appreciate it when you learn some basic phrases in their mother tongue. Apps like Duolingo are an excellent place to start. Many countries offer free language classes or you can find a private tutor to help you.
Remember, you’re going to fuck up the language. That’s part of the learning process. Immersion is the fastest way to get there. To get over your fear, practice as much as possible—errors and all. Laugh at your mistakes together.
Respect sacred sites
The “tourist fail” headlines keep getting wilder. Like the guest dancing on a protected Mayan ruin. Or the visitor taking a topless photo on a war memorial. Or the traveler smiling in a posed photo on the train tracks at Auschwitz, the concentration camp where millions suffered horrific deaths.
Before you leave home, take time to learn about the local customs. Mistakes are natural (umm, welcome to the human experience). But it also sucks to be the person who didn’t get the memo. Try to find the middle path.
Don’t assume locals need your money
Many first-world travelers carry a sense of entitlement. They justify disrespectful behavior under the misconception that a community depends on their money. While that is true in some cases, it’s not a hard and fast rule.
Hawaii, for example, was a self-sustaining kingdom before the influx of tourists and developers. And with the many woes of overtourism, some popular destinations, like Hong Kong, wish that snobby tourists would just pack up and leave altogether.
Instead of going into a new place with the mindset of living like a king, view it as an opportunity for reciprocity. Ask yourself: how can I give back to this community to show my gratitude?
Avoid geotagging hidden gems
Social media and influencer culture bring many challenges to the travel industry. One of these is geotagging–i.e., letting people know exactly where you are.
While it does help to raise awareness and inspire others, it also draws the crowds. When people start showing up en masse, locals watch in horror as their favorite beaches and trails suddenly transform from a dreamy refuge into a noisy, trashed nightmare.
If you happen upon a spot that seems quiet and undisturbed, try to keep the news to yourself. Ask a local what other place you should tag instead. You can also cite a nearby national park, the state, or the country in general.
Respect nature
Travelers have a bad reputation for trashing beautiful places. Like that time visitors left 8,000 pounds of trash on Lake Tahoe’s shores during the Fourth of July weekend. Messes often burden the locals, contaminate resources, and attract wild animals, who then get sick from eating food their systems can’t handle.
A FEW IDEAS
bag up dog waste
pick up cigarette butts
put out campfires properly
dispose of leftovers in secure bins
pick up trash, even if it isn’t yours
leave natural souvenirs behind (like shells with live critters in them)
Give wildlife space
One visitor in Yellowstone National Park made the news for getting dangerously close to a bison—an enormous 1,000-pound mammal—to take a selfie. If it would’ve stood up and attacked, she would’ve been toast. She got unbelievably lucky.
If wild animals feel threatened, they will defend themselves, even if a tourist isn’t doing anything wrong, like the man who was trampled by an elephant in Uganda for simply leaving the vehicle.
Giving animals space is not just for our safety—it’s for theirs, too. Human interaction can be stressful, like the baby dolphin that was killed in Argentina when tourists used it for a photo opportunity.
As a good rule of thumb, offer 75 feet of space for prey and 300 feet for predators, says the National Park Service. For marine wildlife, plan on 300 to 600 feet—at least the length of a football field—says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Try to limit your viewings to 30 minutes, so you don’t stress out the animals.
Wear reef-friendly sunscreen
Many sunscreens contain chemicals that wash off in the ocean and damage the reefs and wildlife, according to the US government.
Look for sunscreens that are labeled “Reef Safe.” The ingredients list should be free from oxybenzone and octinoxate, two chemicals that are well-known to damage marine environments.
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These are the truly reef-safe brands on the market. They are available via their online stores, Amazon, Target, or Walmart:
All Good
Amavara
Avasol
Badger — special shout-out to this brand, as they led the whole movement and helped change legislation
Bare Republic
BeautyCounter
CocoKind
Christina Moss
Goddess Garden
Kokua
Mad Hippie
Manda
Native
OLITA
Raw Elements
REN
Stream2Sea
SunButter
Surfdurt
Thrive Bodyshield
TotLogic
TropicSport
Waxhead
Drive respectfully
Tourists are known to be wild on the road. They’ll speed, swerve, cut people off, and blast music in the middle of the night in a residential neighborhood.
Understandably, locals aren’t thrilled. Bali, for example, is considering a ban on tourists renting motorbikes to help curb some of the chaos.
There’s no shame in having a bit of fun, of course. But while you’re on a joy ride, the locals are commuting to and from work, picking up their kids, and running errands.
Even if you drive like a NASCAR racer at home, try to keep the locals safe, like learning the local traffic laws and driving at a reasonable speed.
Be selective about accommodation
In many areas, residents are getting priced out of paradise. When foreign investors lap up two, three, four, or five houses to use as rentals, it displaces local families and drives up the cost of housing for everyone.
It’s 100% understandable to want an investment property. But if you don’t want to support this practice, you can take a few extra steps on home shares. Check the host’s profile to see how many listings they have. Message them and ask “Is this an investment property?” Rent a room in a local’s house, instead of the whole place.
Support local businesses
Fun paradox: many tourists love the comforts of home away from home.
For example, I went to Denny’s in San Jose, Costa Rica—a city flanked on either side by gorgeous, untamed jungle—which helped to ease the anxiety of traveling alone. You’d be surprised by the number of American chains in many capital cities.
That said, at some point, it’s also worth it to break chains and step outside your comfort zone. Consider local options for hotels, eateries, and shops. Your dollar will directly impact a local family. While you’re there, leave small businesses great reviews, so others follow suit.
Look for ways to give back
Volunteering can add a whole new dimension to your trip, while mitigating some of the challenges of overtourism. You could participate in a beach clean-up, volunteer at an animal shelter, tutor students who want English lessons, offer your skills for community projects, or do a work trade on a local farm. Every little bit helps.
TIP: Check WWOOF and Worldpackers for volunteer opportunities or work trades.
Pays local fairly
Expats, particularly Americans, have a poor reputation for being exploitative. If you haggle or do business abroad, avoid the temptation to short-change locals.
There’s a balance between what’s appropriate for the local cost of living and what you know someone would charge back home. Ask around and find the middle ground. Rather than focusing on cheap goods and labor, focus on relationships.
Fall back on the Golden Rule
Travel is better for everyone when you respect the culture. If it’s not something you’d want visitors to do to you, or your land, then try not to do it abroad.
This could look like:
honoring modesty customs at religious sites
conserving natural resources, like fresh water
asking locals for permission before taking photos
observing quiet hours in residential areas
Accept that you’re an outsider
Even in the most welcoming of places, you may still be regarded as a foreigner—and that’s okay. This could mean that you have to pay “gringo tax” in the shops or that your taxi rides cost a little more.
To that, I say: pick your battles. Is it really worth causing a stir? I try to opt for gratitude and remind myself that I’m fortunate enough to travel in the first place.
Understand the tension
Governments welcome travelers. Locals often hate them. There’s no clear answer, which is why it’s important to talk to locals and understand their frustrations.
I first started to understand the impact of overtourism on a trip to Mexico. On a bus near Guanajuato, belly full of homemade tortillas and horchata (sweet rice milk), I noticed one small town that looked remarkably American.
“A lot of gringos come in and buy up the old, dilapidated buildings,” said the local I was with. “Sometimes, we can’t afford to out-bid our own landmarks.”
On the one hand, visitors bring in fresh revenue. This boosts the local economy while preseving places that might otherwise fall by the wayside.
On the other hand, a sharp uptick in tourists and foreign investors paves the way for other problems. Think: construction, increased cost of living, traffic, pollution, and big companies that drive out the mom-and-pop shops.
This phenomenon isn’t exclusive to one region, either. Countries like Indonesia, Costa Rica, and the latest hotspot, Portugal, know all too well what happens when too many visitors flood the gates all at once.
Left unchecked, outside influence can erode the cornerstones of culture that make a destination so appealing in the first place. Over time, locals may not recognize their own home—the land they once loved. The frustration is 100% understandable.
Maintain an ongoing dialogue
Ask locals how you can help their community, what they would like to see change, and what messages you can spread around to the other travelers.
If a local calls-out specific things you’re doing, try to find a compromise. If the problems thrown your way are much more general—inflation, increased cost of living, construction, busier lines—you may not feel there’s much you can do.
Stay in the conversation, anyway. The solution, whatever it is, will arise from an ongoing dialogue about how to improve conditions for everyone.
Frequently asked questions
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Tourists, expats, and digital nomads can boost the local economy, but they can also introduce many problems for existing residents. Locals may feel like they don’t recognize their home, with increased costs of living, trash, traffic, construction, illegal developments, and busy stores.
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The most important thing you can do before you travel is to educate yourself. Before you go, learn about the history, culture, and current events in a destination. Once you arrive, take cues from the people around you and abide by their customs, manner of dress, and social behaviors.
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When you visit a new country, be respectful towards the people, wildlife, nature preserves, and sacred sites. You can also find ways to give back, like picking up trash in public areas, volunteering your time and skills, and leaving positive reviews for small businesses.
