Ecotourism: The Sustainable Way to Travel, Part 2 of 3

Our special guest on today’s program, Sebastian Guttman, is an environmentalist and vegan athlete from Germany who has chosen to use a zero-emissions form of travel with his selfmade bamboo bicycle. A champion of sustainable travel, Mr. Guttman has traveled to approximately 30 countries over the past two-and-a-half years, and plans to pause his bicycle tour during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I would highly suggest people to travel slowly. We are living in a really fast world and everyone wants a fast experience and a fast travel. And you have jetlag and spend a couple of days on the beach and go back. And it will be much less harmful for our world if people start to travel less places but slowly, and maybe using a train, a bicycle. I met some people even walking; okay, not everyone wants to walk but you also can use trains, also go on a boat, on a sailing boat. I also met some people sea sailing from one continent to the next one and don’t use airplanes, and sometimes just exploring your own environment around your own neighborhood, own country. Sometimes you don’t have to go so fast or so far away. Some people want to go to the opposite (side) of the world, but maybe just exploring your own area. You have also probably some really beautiful areas around your house." Sustainable volunteering is a great means of supporting local residents and giving back to the community you visit. Planting trees has been Mr. Guttman’s way of getting involved and giving back to the communities that have hosted him on his journeys. "And I think it’s important to get the message to our next generation to understand what we have to do for our world, and what we have to change because regular life right now, in most people’s heads, they can not live with it anymore. We only have one planet, you know, we are blowing up CO2 in our air from the cars or industry or whatever, or also eating meat. And we have to think differently right now, because I want to give my own kids and our grandchildren, I want to give a world that we also can live. And now it’s the time we have to change many things, opposite of thinking of earning money or the economy, to think differently." We agree, Mr. Guttman. Now is the time to make changes to save our world.