Responsible single parent travel..... An oxymoron?

Look..... I might be making some fairly broad assumptions here.... but ask most families..."what are the most important factors in determining your travel choices as a parent?".... and top of the list might be #cost, closely followed by #convenience, travel time, #facilities and a variety of other factors that serve to keep little Johnny (or Jenny) happy so that Mummy and Daddy (or any combination of the above) can have a 'nice' time .... This understandably translates into myriad #risk #reducing behaviours that might be more (or less) aligned with #responsible #tourism practices. Add 'doing it alone' into the mix then, very understandably there is the temptation to 'play it safe', re-tread old ground, stick to VFR (Visiting friends and relatives) style trips where the safety net is firmly engaged. Local airports, or 'no fly', short distances, packages, ambient climate, beige food, recognisable brands are all tempting. But let's give our little folk credit, they are #resilient beings and the fear of what might go wrong is more often in our heads than what actually comes to pass.

It is that fear that can paralyse us, cause us (and them) to miss out on so much. As we sit in the safety of our homes, prevented from travelling by the #pandemic there is more and more evidence to be seen of the #health, #educational and #wellbeing benefits of travel... some are even going as far to suggest that travel is no longer a want, it is something deep rooted within the human psyche.... (Dr Michael Brein, the Travel Psychologist) and if done responsibly then those benefits stand to be multipled and not just in service of the consumer....

That does not go to mean that the aforementioned forms of travel are not responsible (or can not be), because as I have argued in a previous blog post, it is my honest belief that most forms of tourism can be undertaken responsibly. It's all about the way in which that travel is planned and consumed that matters ultimately. But this is to recognise that there are conditions related to family travel, and specifically single parent travel that can cause us to make less responsible travel choices and behaviours as we seek to mitigate risk. I would be wrong to imply that this fear is exclusive to travelling parents, certainly not! But as a single parent traveller, it is something I am conscious of, something that drives certain travel decisions and the impetus for creating this blog; to encourage others to be (in however small a way) more conscious about their travel choices and behaviours, a little bolder to try something new, something unknown that will offer #reciprocal #benefits to you, your child(ren) and the #destination and #residents that host you.

This week I started to read Simon Reeve's @simon_reeve Tropic of Capricorn which in its opening pages summed it up perfectly for me... the 'why we do it?'.... 'why bother?'...

"When we leave our borders we should remember that travel is a desire of many but an honour for a few. As such it carries certain responsibilities. For the time has long gone when we could happily settle for weeks on a sunny beach without considering the environmental impact of our travels, or the fact that our boutique hotel is owned by the son of a local dictator. None of us should now be travelling blind, and learning more about the places we visit makes for a more interesting experience, a more rounded adventure."

So the next trip you plan, when we are 'free' again to do so, call to mind choices that you can make that might be a little more beneficial to the destination.... in turn you might well enjoy a more #fulfilling #travel #experience...This does not have to be an 'all out' eco-adventure, it doesn't have to be far away, you don't have to fly there, it certainly doesn't have to be expensive.... but consider some tweaks you can make.... opt for the Homestay rather than the familiar name, save money, benefit the local #economy directly and #immerse yourselves in the local culture....

Why not check out these great resources for some #inspiration of how to travel more #responsibly with #children and how to ensure that children get maximum #educational benefit from travel. Have a look at this family travel blog @globetotting @WanderDaughter and this resource from PATA (Pacific Asia Tourism Association) .......

Happy travels folks.... Be bold!!

Faye and August x