Last fall I was in Annapolis Maryland. This is a beautiful city right on the Chesapeake Bay. Following the when in Rome do as the Romans line of thinking, I looked for the local specialty for dinner; Maryland Crabs. It was no shock to find many great seafood restaurants, but what shocked me is that some of them were promoting Alaskan Crabs. Here is where my new environmental heart took hold of me. If I had a group with me I would recommend the restaurants that served Maryland Crabs over Alaskan Crabs even if it cost more money. Besides being a fresher product, smelling the very water that the crabs just came from, the carbon emissions from transporting the Alaskan Crabs to Maryland is simply wasteful. My recommendation would be smart, logical and good for the environment. If I was in Alaska, I would highly recommend their Crabs over the Maryland imports. So which would I recommend if I was in Kansas? Steak with a side of corn on the cob made with real butter.
There are many other benefits to having this depth of understanding of our work areas. For example, if I had to recommend an Italian restaurant and I was choosing between two favorites. I would point out that one buys their produce from a local farm while the other buys more of their produce frozen. Such a true simple statement has so many benefits.
1- You look like a better tour guide because of the depth of your knowledge.
2- You are making a difference by lowering your client’s carbon footprint while they are on tour. Together, we make can make a huge impact in this area.
3-You are demonstrating a different mentality. You are a respected person that has chosen to care about things greater then yourself. Ironically, demonstrating altruism often yields a greater sense of appreciation at the end of the tour. Our clients look up to us and our actions can help open up their mind to a greater eco-awareness. This knowledge can make us feel better no matter how much tip you get at the end of the day.
Guides working together for a better world are a win win situation. We also have a beautiful and powerful position to make real changes in the world. This is partly due to the nature of travel. Traveling to a foreign land is like regular life, but intensified. You see more, hear more, taste more, and experience life more deeply and thoroughly then you might do in you day to day life at home. Your senses are open to experience more. It is during this time of openness that we Guides of the world can share many of the beauties of the area in which we work. We may help to instill a love of art, architecture, food, or the environment. By experiencing how another culture loves and takes care of the environment, our passengers are then more apt to continue the environmental practices that they learned on tour once they arrive back home. This is the advantage the travel industry has in promoting change.
