Guiris go home.
You come here to coastal apartments
in Barcelona, Mallorca, Tenerife, San Sebastián-
unattainable for us who live here
You push up house prices with your foreign salaries,
and retirement homes.
You erode our economy,
hollow out our neighbourhoods.
You don’t respect our local culture or customs,
our long-standing traditions.
I know this.
So how could I be a sustainable traveller-
an ambassador for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
Not as seventeen separate entities,
but choices interwoven-
how I travelled,
how I spent my time and money,
what I taught,
and how I treated the communities that welcomed me.
A traveller with minimal negative impact,
and far-reaching positive impact.
I hope I was a sustainable traveller when I…
Took the road less travelled
to live in La Rioja, the least visited region in Spain.
Moved around by city bike, car shares, and trains,
reducing emissions where I could,
for SDG13: Climate Action.
Created a recycling scheme in my flat, diligently sorting waste to the correct bins.
Shopped at local markets and independent shops for my produce and supplies,
in line with SDG12: Responsible Consumption & Production,
to support farmers and entrepreneurs
who produce local food,
despite water shortages and desertification,
while many are pushed into poverty by corporate chains.
Ate a plant-based diet-
a stance against exploitation,
and a way to reduce the strain on our land and seas.
Educated young people in my community-
for SDG4: Quality Education-
about climate change, fast fashion, and consumerism.
Helped them with their environmental project
‘Mosquito Alert’,
and gave them space for reflection.
Spoke the language, partnered with locals,
and let go of preconceptions,
to understand,
not impose.
Realised eco-friendly travel isn’t just about the land, sea, and air-
it’s about being an ally for those facing discrimination.
Empowered other women as a solo female traveller,
for SDG10: Reduced Inequalities,
in a country where privilege
meant my gender didn’t render the journey inaccessible.
Didn’t begrudge the tourist tax,
visible or not,
in cities with growing inequality.
Chose to stay in the spare rooms of local people-
for SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities-
investing in the community rather than tourist apartments.
Left nothing but footprints,
but I hope I left something more.
I hope I made an impact
staying for 8 months
long enough to know the locals, the teachers, the children, the neighbours.
We proclaim our cultures are incomparably contrasting.
Yet we share the land, the sea, the air,
the humanity,
of the one planet we have
Maybe guiris don’t need to go home,
nor prove they belong,
but leave a community stronger as a result of them passing through.
Resources:
1. Nextbike – Bike-sharing app for urban travel.
https://www.nextbike.de/en/#
2. BlaBlaCar – Carpooling for low-emission travel.
https://www.blablacar.com
3. The Ethical Traveller by Imogen Lepere – A guide to ethical tourism.
4. Greenpeace Spain: 10 Environmental Challenges in Spain from Above
https://es.greenpeace.org
5. UN Sustainable Development Goals – Framework for sustainable travel and responsible tourism.
https://sdgs.un.org/goals
