Greenwashing in Tourism And How to Spot Fake 'Sustainable' Travel Companies
You've seen it everywhere. Hotels plastered with leaves and earth tones promising "eco-friendly" stays. Tour operators dropping "sustainable," "responsible," and "authentic" in every Instagram caption. Perfectly curated photos of travelers "giving back" to communities.
But here's the thing: most of these companies aren't walking the talk.
Welcome to greenwashing in tourism – where buzzwords are cheap, but real ethical practices are anything but.
What Is Greenwashing?
Greenwashing is when companies use environmental or ethical language without implementing meaningful sustainable practices. It's slapping a "natural" label on processed food. And in travel, it's everywhere.
Iris Serbanescu, founder of By Iris Representation and wmnsWORK, breaks down ethical travel into two simple questions:
"Where does the money go, and how do you minimize harm?"
Let's start with the most egregious example of greenwashing in recent news.
The Ritz Carlton Problem
The Ritz Carlton is building a luxury lodge in Kenya's Maasai Mara. They're marketing it as "sustainable" and claiming it won't disturb the local environment.
The reality? The hotel is being built directly in the path of the Great Migration.
This construction is cutting animals off from traditional migration routes and disrupting one of the world's most important wildlife phenomena. But because the marketing says "sustainable," travelers will book it thinking they're making an ethical choice.
"They say they're doing it in a sustainable way," Iris explained, "but the negative impact is going to be way greater than whatever positive impact they claim."
This is textbook greenwashing.
The Two Questions That Reveal Everything
1. Where Does the Money Go?
In traditional tourism, large international companies take 60-80% of your money back to their home country. Local people execute the tours but have no decision-making power and receive minimal compensation.
Real ethical tourism flips this. Instead, 60-80% of your money stays in the local community. Local people aren't just service providers – they're in leadership positions making decisions about how tourism operates.
"It's not enough for local folks to just be executing the experiences," Iris told me. "They need to have some form of leadership and ownership over how travelers experience their community."
Ask tour operators: Where does my money go? What percentage stays in the local community? Who holds leadership positions in your company?
If they can't answer clearly, that's your red flag.
2. How Do You Minimize Harm?
This is where companies hide behind vague eco-friendly language while continuing harmful practices.
Picture this: A busload of tourists pulls up to a Maasai village. Community members perform a jumping dance. Tourists snap photos. Someone buys a beaded bracelet. The bus leaves.
This is "tokenized" tourism – communities exist to be observed and photographed, not genuinely engaged with. They're often not fairly compensated and have no control over the narrative of their own culture.
Real cultural immersion involves conversation, shared meals, and learning from each other – not watching people perform their culture on command.
Greenwashing companies will:
Run tours at over-capacity (profit over preservation)
Bring 40-60 people into small communities or fragile ecosystems
Skip briefings on cultural protocols
Focus on "Instagrammable moments" over actual experiences
Use vague language with no specific environmental policies
Have no waste reduction plan
Ethical companies will:
Keep group sizes small (under 16 people)
Brief you on cultural protocols and respectful behavior
Give you clear wildlife viewing guidelines
Show transparency about where money goes
Have measurable environmental goals
Put local people in decision-making roles
The "I Can't Afford Ethical Travel" Myth
Yes, truly ethical tour operators may cost more than budget travel giants. That's because people are being paid fairly and resources are being protected.
But ethical travel doesn't always cost more. Here's what you can do on any budget:
Free:
Examine your behavior as a traveler. How are you showing up? Are you perpetuating harmful stereotypes? "The way I show up and treat people has a lasting impact," Iris said. "I can create a positive self-fulfilling prophecy, or I can make them feel exploited."
Budget-friendly:
Stay in locally-owned guesthouses (often cheaper than chains)
Eat at local restaurants instead of tourist traps
Use local transportation when it’s safe
Hire local guides directly instead of through international platforms
When spending more:
Don't assume expensive = ethical. Ask the hard questions.
Look for local or women-owned businesses
Choose operators with clear community partnerships
How to Spot Greenwashing: A Quick Reference
🚩 Red Flags:
They can’t or won't tell you where the money goes
They use vague language ("eco-conscious") with no specifics
There’s no information about group sizes
The local staff are only in supporting roles, never in leadership
They won't answer direct questions about practices
They have "authentic experiences" that feel staged
There’s more focus on your Instagram content than actual experience
✅ Green Flags:
They give a clear breakdown: at least 60-80% of money stays local
They have small group sizes (under 16)
They have local people in leadership positions
There are pre-trip cultural protocol briefings
They have specific environmental policies with measurable goals
They value long-term community partnerships
They’re honest about sustainability challenges
They’re transparent about their impact
What You Can Do
Ask questions. Email tour operators and ask where your money goes, who's in leadership, what their group sizes are. If they can't answer, walk away.
Look beyond marketing. Beautiful photos ≠ ethical practices. Read reviews about how locals were treated, not just how pretty the scenery was.
Support local. Choose locally-owned businesses over international chains. This is the single biggest impact you can make.
Be willing to pay fairly. Stop looking for the absolute cheapest option. Ask what that low price really means for the people working to serve you.
Examine yourself. Are you treating locals as photo props or as human beings? This costs nothing and matters immensely.
Share what you find. Recommend truly ethical companies. Call out greenwashing when you see it.
Progress over perfection. You don't have to be a perfect sustainable traveler. Just be better than your last trip.
The Bottom Line
Greenwashing actively harms communities and ecosystems while making conscious travelers think they're doing the right thing.
We have power as travelers. We vote with our dollars every time we book a trip.
So let's stop letting companies slap "sustainable" on their marketing while they exploit communities and destroy ecosystems.
Let's ask harder questions. Let's demand transparency. And let's support companies actually doing the work – not just talking about it on Instagram.
The world doesn't need more performative sustainability. It needs travelers who give a damn about where their money goes and what their presence does to the places they visit.
Be that traveler.
Want to learn more? Listen to my full conversation with Iris Serbanescu on the Type 2 Travel podcast.
Looking for ethical tours? Check out my upcoming trips at lauraericson.com – every tour is designed with local partnerships and ethical practices at the core.
