Note: This is the third article in the responsible tourism series

Responsible tourism is a type of tourism that integrates the conservation and preservation of natural resources, culture, and social development needs of a place into its economic framework. It is a new and growing movement that promotes sustainable behaviour in the travel industry in a way that considers the economic and social realities of a region. At the heart of the matter is a simple idea that we as a collective society must think about how tourism impacts the environment. It is important that we are aware of how much our actions have affected this planet and its many ecosystems.

Through a responsible tourism framework, the tourism industry can ensure sustainability in the long run — an urgent need of the hour. One of the major reconfigurations that the tourism industry requires is to shift the burden of responsibilities from the travellers to the hospitality sector. When structural policy reforms are introduced from the top down, they can act as catalysts in facilitating positive change. At an organizational level, the hospitality sector would benefit from creating awareness about responsible practices to positively impact their local communities and environment.

The Responsible Tourism Series is an effort to create awareness about Skyview by Empyrean’s positive interventions in the Sanget Valley, and at the same time, inform our guests about the best practices they can adopt to become conscious travellers.

Environmental Responsibility

One of the primary pillars of responsible tourism is Environmental Responsibility, a topic we introduced in the previous issue of The Pulse. Environmental responsibility can be viewed from both macro and micro levels. At the macro level, Environmental Responsibility entails how organizational policies and initiatives within the framework of an ecosystem can positively impact its environment. For instance, at Skyview by Empyrean, we have built a Gondola system that is free of any carbon emissions and promotes decongestion of traffic on the Sanget-Patnitop route, significantly minimizing traffic, air and noise pollution. Environmental responsibility is a core component of our organizational DNA, allowing us to promote sustainable practices at a large scale in Sanget Valley. At the micro-level, environmental responsibility pertains to the duties of tourists and other individuals to minimize pollution, conserve resources, and protect the environment within their capacities.

As a proud member of Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, a multinational non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and inspiring responsible outdoor recreation through education, research-based solutions and partnerships, we at Skyview by Empyrean abide by the organization’s 7 principles that provide a framework of minimum impact practices for almost every recreational outdoor activity.

The Leave No Trace Seven Principles are a set of principles that advocate for the preservation and protection of wilderness, wildlife habitats and public lands. They provide guidelines on how to minimize human impacts in our outdoor spaces and promote active participation with nature. Essentially, The Leave No Trace Seven Principles are guidelines for how people can both enjoy nature responsibly and preserve natural spaces by following seven simple principles. The primary goal is reducing human impact on the environment when participating in exploring, camping or vacationing activities. At Skyview by Empyrean, these principles guide our conduct whenever we are out interacting with nature.

The Leave No Trace Seven Principles (Link to be embedded: https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/)

• Plan Ahead and Prepare
• Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
• Dispose of Waste Properly
• Leave What You Find
• Minimize Campfire Impacts
• Respect Wildlife
• Be Considerate of Other Visitors