Flygskam, Sleeper Trains & Other Travel Trends in the age of Sustainability

Sustainability travel trends are slowly becoming a lifestyle as well as business opportunities, but we need to distinguish between genuine sustainable actions and activities and green washing.

Have you seen the tiny slot budget airlines expect carry-on to fit into? Click To Tweet

Everything is available for rent at your destination thus reducing plastic waste and over-consumption that results from tourism.

Wouldn’t you love that?

Sustainability is part of a growing travel trend covering sustainable travel, zero waste and plastic-free living, and travelers are amenable to travel trends that make travel easier and sustainable.

With that said, what sustainable travel trends are making waves today?

 

 #Sustainability Travel Trends: Flygskam

The Swedish “flight shaming” movement takes off like a rocket in 2019 and Greta Thunberg embraces this when she sails to NYC for a U.N. summit.

Flygskam encourages no-flying to lower emissions as global CO2 emissions are predicted to rise to 22% for aviation.

For Europe, flygskam is easy as you can bus, train or bike within or between countries. I take a 40min train from Copenhagen to Malmo for a day trip and schlep my luggage on buses between Brussels and Amsterdam.

Try going between NYC and London without a plane, but in Sweden, this travel trend is making an impact as rail travel is seeing use spike lately.

While continental Europe easily implements flygskam, North America, Africa and Australia is left floundering with this travel trend as air travel (and cars) rules.

The word “shame” in this definition is another hurdle to overcome because how can you encourage a culture shift by inciting shame??

#Tagskryt

…and on to trains we go! The natural progression from flygskam or “flight shaming” is tagskryt, or “train brag” in Swedish. This is one sustainability travel trend we can easily do.

Tagskryt is where people encourage train travel and tag each other on social media, like you do.

Pose for the ‘gram, kids! *click*

 

#Sustainability Travel Trends: Sleeper Trains

This sustainability travel trend resurrects luxurious sleeper trains where grand dames and pipe-smoking gentlemen are frequent guests on cross-country routes.

Sleeper trains remind me of Agatha Christie’s Night on the Orient Express and I am glad to see them making a resurgence once again.

For example, the Chicago to NYC 4-day Lake Shore Limited Experience combining historical tours and hotel accommodation in both cities, and the Grand Canyon Railways to Los Angeles.

Paying for each of the tour components separately is still less than its total price and this is why air travel will always be lucrative in North America – it is cheaper and more established than train routes – and flygskam will never take hold here.

OTOH, sleeper trains in Europe are making a comeback after reduced services over the years. With growing CO2 emissions, countries are bringing sleeper trains back on track.

The biggest night train operator in Europe, Nightjet, has a new sleeper train service from Vienna to Brussels and sleeper trains within UK, Ireland and Europe are making a comeback with a Malmo to London sleeper train service arriving in 2022.

Sleeper trains might replace short-haul flights within Europe thus reducing CO2 emissions and opening job opportunities with a reviving train industry.

Read more on sleeper trains services on Twitter @sleeping_train and plan a fun intercity Euro vacation while reducing your CO2 footprint with this travel trend.

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#Microcation Millennials

In 2019, Forbes introduces us to microcations, a vacation less than 5 days, taking a hold among Millennial corporate workers.

Microcations allow more travel throughout the year and reduce vacation shaming that is endemic in corporate American culture. Tsk tsk tsk…

Furthermore, Millennials and other demographic use microcations to explore their backyard, reduce flying, and for mental health rejuvenation.

I have been taking microcations without even realizing it with an overnight to charming and walkable Hudson, NY as well as multiple weekend getaways to Washington D.C. over the years.

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#Sustainability Travel Trends: Clothing & Luggage Rental

Again, imagine not having to sit on a tiny carry-on to zip it shut; just grab your bag, travel documents and off you go to exotic climes!

There are startups that specialize in clothing rentals – hello, Rent the Runway – but imagine renting clothes in your destination city.

Scrolling through Insta, I come across a luggage rental startup in NYC – @caseyluggage – and I’m in awe! I know of clothing rentals, but luggage? Very interesting!

This will definitely appeal to city dwellers with cubicle spaces and zero storage.

What do you think of this growing sustainability travel trend? Yay or nay?

#Ecohotels

Do you stay in eco-hotels when you travel?

Many luxury hotel chains market sustainability as part of wellness as travelers demand that brands conduct business with purpose.

Alas, these digs are beyond regular folk thus only the elite can afford to experience this luxurious sustainable travel trend.

It is my humble opinion that hotels not charge an arm and a leg for eco-friendly services as these should be embedded within standard services.

I always want to stay in an eco-hotel so imagine my shock when my package deal to Costa Rica books me a lovely eco-hotel, full of lush green and monkey families.

Eco-hotel fact: My eco shower has dark stone and is devoid of a drain!

Picture this (*Sophia Petrillo voice*): me crouching on floor to watch water drain. Turns out, water seeps through crevices as rapidly as a drain. Plus, the stone doubles as a pumice so it’s a 2-in-1 use for this sustainable travel trend.

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#Sustainability Travel Trends: Equipment Rental

Is there a startup for rental camera equipment?

Backpackers and travel bloggers pack camera equipment that take up half of carry-on, and Heaven forbid that the airline forces you to check-in camera equipment.

You spend the whole flight praying that an over zealous agent does not toss your equipment like they are at an Olympic shot put event.

How convenient is this line of business renting camera equipment to solo travelers and Insta bloggers? Lucrative!

*whoever founds this startup best credit me and run me my coinsss for the idea.*

Not only is this rental sustainable by reducing equipment over-manufacture and over-stock, but it reduces luggage load and anxiety on travellers.

Do you believe this sustainable travel trend will catch on in the near future?

 

#Responsible Travel

Responsible travel, sustainable travel … these terms are interchangeable to describe the same thing – experiencing travel in a way that leaves as little trace as possible, supporting local tourism and participating in an exchange of culture.

We live in the 21st century so traces abound, but the aim is to reduce and eliminate plastic and other wastes, offset carbon dioxide emissions and use reusable and compostable products that pose minimal impact on the environment.

Certain travelers, like independent backpackers, make sure to leave no trace and keep money circulating within their host community, and for this travel group, responsible travel is more than just a sustainability travel trend. It is a lifestyle that helps to regenerate the local economies of places they find themselves in.

#Sustainability Travel Trends: Out With Over Tourism

This goes without saying that popular cities are drowning in crowds because of cheap air travel and accommodation.

Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Venice are suffering so badly from over-tourism that locals have signs of “tourist go home” in downtown areas. This wave of dislike, turismofobia, is rife in major European cities and is spreading.

As a result, many conscious travelers choose second-tier cities, for example, Rovinj instead of Dubrovnik and Granada instead of Barcelona, for travel.

Amsterdam is not left out of over-tourism and in 2020, the city government is imposing a tourist tax and limiting tour groups within the Red Light District.

I love Amsterdam and can understand this move to limit over-crowding hence when I visit, a day trip to Haarlem or the Dutch countryside is in my itinerary.

This move is a double-edged sword because on one hand, limiting tourism harms local economies … but over-tourism erases culture and displaces locals.

Over-tourism prompts Madrid, Barcelona and Prague to limit or eliminate Air Bnb in their cities with Prague stating that their city is now a “distributed hotel“. Yikes!

Do you think travellers will avoid major cities as a sustainability travel trend?

 

#Say No To Geo-tagging

Many conscious travellers don’t geo-tag locations of sensitive sites to prevent inevitable overrun by curious crowds.

The rise of Iceland as a tourism destination in recent years is from Justin Bieber showcasing Fjadrargljufur Canyon in a music video, resulting in such over-tourism to the area that vegetation was destroyed. This led Iceland’s Environment Agency to shut down the canyon. You didn’t know that, did you?

Stateside, National Parks see over-crowding and destruction of trails after a geo-tag picture goes viral and visitors are encouraged not to geo-tag locations.

There are two sides to this:

Some see geo-tags as encouraging accessibility to marginalized folks while some see it as broadcasting delicate trails to the trampling of uncouth urban masses.

I geo-tag major cities and establishments (e.g. NYC, Hudson Yards) for reach but I will be mindful of geo-tagging sensitive areas if I visit.

I don’t hike but I hope we think before geo-tagging sensitive ecosystems to prevent destruction and over-tourism.

Do you think a #nogeotag travel trend will imprint on travelers?

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Do you see yourself embracing one of these sustainability travel trends in some way? Do tell.

I love train travel but it is expensive hence I get my fix when I visit Europe … and yes, I fly there.

Don’t forget to comment and share your thoughts on these sustainability travel trends. See you on the social streets!

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