While traveling is one of life’s greatest pleasures, tourism can take its toll on communities and the environment. Nowhere is this seen more than in Thailand, where the influx of tourists has led to greater exploitation of both people and wildlife.
At Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve, we are passionate about sharing the beauty of Phuket while ensuring that our efforts are responsible. As one of the leading ethical elephant sanctuaries in the region, we allow tourists to encounter these animals safely on our Phuket Elephant Tours and Activities.
But there is so much you can do to ensure your travels leave a positive impact! Read our guide to responsible travel in Phuket for supporting local communities and conservation efforts. If you want to find out more about our sustainable elephant tours, feel free to get in touch!
How to Travel Sustainably in Phuket
Firstly, it’s important to understand how you can travel sustainably in Phuket, ensuring each part of your journey is as conscious as possible. We’ve put together some of the following tips for eco-friendly and respectful travel in Thailand:
- Avoid plastics: Phuket faces huge challenges with plastic pollution, which has a detrimental impact on the ecosystem and wildlife. Make sure you bring reusable bags and bottles to ensure you are not purchasing items that incorporate plastic.
- Clean up: Always make sure you discard your trash and leave nothing behind on beaches or in natural areas. If rubbish bins are not easily accessible, keep your trash with you until you find a suitable place to discard it.
- Choose accommodation carefully: You can help support communities by staying in locally-run accommodation. You can even find places to stay in that use renewable energy to run.
- Be respectful: Always treat local communities with respect. When visiting places of worship, make sure you dress appropriately.
- Go on eco-friendly activities: When exploring, try choose eco-friendly activities such as hiking, cycling, and kayaking to reduce your carbon footprint.
You can learn more about the negative impacts of travel in Thailand with our blog on the Dark Side of Tourism in Phuket.
Supporting Local Communities in Phuket
There are numerous ways you can support local communities during your travels in Phuket. Here are our top suggestions:
Choose local tour operators in Phuket
When choosing your tours and travel activities, it’s always best to go with local guides. Many of the guides in Phuket have insider knowledge and they will be able to offer you further suggestions for where to go and what to do. Choosing local tour operators means you are helping uplift businesses as well as families. You’ll not only boost the economy, but you’ll also invest in more meaningful experiences.
Community-based tourism in Phuket
Speaking of meaningful experiences, a growing trend in Phuket is community-based tourism. This is where visitors seek out local communities or villages, engaging in activities whereby the profits go directly back into the community, allowing them to choose how to use it.
In Phuket, it’s possible to visit local villages or even take part in a homestay, where you live with a local Thai family. While in the village, you can learn from community members how to cook typical meals, make traditional handicrafts, or discover more about their culture. This will expose you to a much more authentic side of Phuket, enhance your cultural knowledge, and improve the livelihoods of communities.
Buy local products in Phuket
Phuket is filled with markets where you’ll find countless vendors selling all sorts of souvenirs, knick-knacks, and cheap clothing. While it’s tempting to get more bang for your buck, many of these items are often mass-produced and may have been made using exploitative labor. While shopping in Phuket, try instead to buy from artisans who have handmade their crafts with great expertise and care. You’ll be supporting more sustainably produced goods as well as local culture and artisanship.
For tips on what to buy and where, read our blog on Sustainable Souvenirs: Eco-Friendly Shopping in Phuket.
Helping Conservation Efforts in Phuket
One of Phuket’s greatest appeals is its wildlife. However, species have come under increasing risk due to environmental pressure and have been exploited and abused for the sake of tourism. To curb this, make sure you support ethical and responsible wildlife sanctuaries, such as the ones below:
Visit Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation
The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation is dedicated to conserving the sea turtles of Mai Khao, one of the few beaches in Phuket where turtles nest. The poaching of adult turtles and their eggs, overdevelopment of beaches, and pollution have all threatened these creatures. The foundation works out of the JW Marriott Phuket Hotel, where you can visit them for free and learn about how they are conserving the turtles and their beaches. You can also join them for turtle releases, and watch these beautiful animals return home!
Explore the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project
At the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project in the Khao Phra Thaeo Non-Hunting Area, gibbons have made a remarkable comeback. These apes had disappeared from the wild in Phuket, having been targeted by the tourism industry as people wanted to play and take photos with them. Over decades, the project has rescued countless gibbons from abusive circumstances and has even successfully reintroduced them into the wild. You can visit the sanctuary to learn more about the rehabilitation of gibbons and their behaviors.
Tour Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve
Visit us at Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve for one of the most ethical tours with elephants in Thailand. Our sanctuary is a leader in sustainable tourism, ensuring the welfare of our elephants while enhancing education for tourists. We allow visitors to feed and meet the elephants but do not allow them to be ridden, chained, or forced to perform tricks. Instead, they roam free and are provided with top-quality veterinary care.
Join us for one of our Phuket Elephant Tours and Nature Activities, where you can observe these majestic animals safely and respectfully in a natural environment. For more information on our tours and our sustainable practices, feel free to contact us. We can’t wait to welcome you as part of our journey to responsible tourism in Phuket!
