Copyright:@Karen Edwards
Awhile ago, I sat with the author, travel journalist, and Wanderlust's newly appointed sustainability editor Karen Edwards to talk about travelling responsibly, her travel experiences onboard expedition ships, what makes expedition cruising a unique form of travel and what we as a sector can improve to make it a more responsible experience for the travellers and local communities.
Karen, tell me a little about how you got into expedition cruising?
I am a travel journalist and eight years ago I was invited to experience an expedition cruise to Antarctica. It was a 10-day trip through the Antarctic Peninsula. While I was there, and unbeknown to me at the time, I met my future husband, Brad. He was a Marine Biologist and was working on board, giving presentations and teaching guests all about the region’s marine life. Once I left the ship, we kept in touch and as our relationship grew, Brad would invite me to join him on the ship as his guest while he worked onboard. As his own career progressed and he became a regular expedition leader, I was spending an increasing amount of time onboard with him. So, as the company knew I was a writer, I was asked to blog about my personal experiences for the company website. Then, an opportunity came along to join expedition team as the on-board programme coordinator and I jumped at the chance because, not only I got to experience the amazing places we were travelling to, but I also got to be with Brad. This is how I ended up working onboard the expedition ships.
What is the most memorable experience or destination from your time working in expedition cruising industry?
It has to be that first trip to Antarctica. At the time, I was travelling with a friend, who is as passionate about the environment, wildlife and travel as I am, and I will never forget the awe we both felt as we crossed the Drake Passage and watched Antarctica – the South Shetland Islands – come into view. I cannot put into words how I felt in that moment. This bank of ice and snow was suddenly in front of us – we were thousands of miles from anywhere. This was the wildest environment I’ve ever experienced. Our Expedition Leader, Kara Weller, announced our arrival and it brought tears to my eyes to know we were about to set foot on Antarctica. When you’re that close to this remote, icy continent, you no longer feel you are on this planet. That voyage only got better each day as we visited incredible sites such as Paradise Bay or Neko Harbour. Kara excelled at ensuring that our footprint was light – and each landing was conducted in small groups and felt intimate. We saw Humpback whales, several seal species and hundreds of penguins who were as curious about us as we were about them.
Copyright: @Karen Edwards
Many people associate expedition cruising with polar regions. In addition to the Arctic and Antarctica, you have spent some time working in tropical regions too. What are your impressions about expedition cruising in warm climate?
For me, the heart of expedition cruising is getting to remote regions you cannot easily travel to otherwise – for example, destinations such as Antarctica, the Arctic, the Russian Far East. Saying this, I felt equally enthralled and blown away by some tropical regions we travelled to. Tropical regions tend to be more accessible, but they can still have that incredible isolated feeling about them. The best thing about travelling onboard the ship is that you do not have to go to tried and tested places where people easily fly to. On an expedition cruise, you are likely to visit little islands in the middle of the ocean, snorkel there in the pristine waters without any crowds. Raja Ampat in Indonesia is a prime example. The islands are lush with vegetation, communities are small and when you go out to the reefs, they are healthy and thriving.
Copyright: @Karen Edwards. Raja Ampat in Indonesia, on landing site duty
In your opinion, what makes expedition cruising a unique form of travelling?
Expedition cruising allows you to access places that would be tough to reach with regular transport. An example that comes in mind is Tymlat village on the coastline of Far East Russia. There are no roads leading to this village and sea is your only route. On arrival, you meet and interact with a small community of local fishermen who survive on subsistence living. To sit with them and ask them questions about their life, try their food, listen to their songs, and watch their dances and celebrations. It is a deeply moving experience and it gives you a perspective on the world that other forms of travel cannot.
Additionally, expedition cruising is one of the few ways of travelling where you have an opportunity to learn and educate yourself extensively as you go. On an expedition ship, you have a line-up of experts and scientists who provide constant information on the area you visit – from the environment and climate to culture, wildlife and politics. This is invaluable learning, as it gives you a whole different perspective on what you see. Often you come back as an ambassador of the place you just visited.
I think expedition cruising done right is a very special, enriching form of travel.
You mention ‘expedition cruising done right’ – as a thought leader on responsible tourism, there is no secret that while the industry is trying to address various aspects of becoming a more sustainable, responsible form of travel, there is still a very long way to go. What do you believe are key areas to address, aside from environmental issues, for the brands and the sector as a whole?
Copyright: @Karen Edwards. A Steller Sea Lion with a plastic ring around its neck, Russian Far East
Other than the environmental risks and impact on marine life, it’s vital companies – and the industry – are carefully considering the social impact on the communities they visit. The industry is expanding, ships are becoming larger to meet demand – which means the human footprint is increasing. Every company needs to consider what happens when a ship with 150-200 (or however many) passengers descend on a small town or village. What might be a remarkable experience for guests, can also be an overwhelming experience for that community – and can add a great deal of pressure on infrastructure, services and personnel. Currently, most cruise companies – particularly the more luxury or bigger brands – rarely work directly with the communities they visit. Their planning and interactions are pre-arranged in advance with a local agent or a tour operator, and typically those operators have the monopoly on a region. So, communities are seeing very little of the income from cruise visits. The question is, how much do those communities benefit from these visits?
Plus, responsible travel is about that partnership between a person who is visiting, and the person being visited – where you both get something out of that experience and come out of it with pleasant memories. It should never be just one party benefiting from exchange.
The appeal of expedition cruising has always been intimate and exclusive experiences in the remote parts of the world, but as the industry expands, the frequency of visits – even to remote regions – is increasing purely because of the number of ships going there. And suddenly the place that was special precisely by being so remote and exclusive, no longer is, adding additional pressure to the often fragile and unique environment, and having a negative impact on local infrastructure. There will certainly be ways to regulate this impact, but it requires companies to actively do better.
How can this be solved?
From its inception, the aim of expedition cruising always was to bring the raw sense of travel to the client while also teaching and educating them about the world. It is meant to be a very enriching and humbling experience. As the industry expands, it is paramount the concept doesn’t stray away from its founding principles. In the context of social impact, the next step should be to work better with the places we visit. There needs to be a better relationship with local agents and a meaningful conversation about what responsible travel is and what the cruise companies and their agents can do to be more accountable. Local communities must be involved in the decision-making and should be at the table to be a part of those decisions. They should also be able to discuss how the income from these visits can be distributed and put back in the community. This isn’t something easy to initiate but brands should be driving this forward.
In your opinion, how can travel trade community help expedition cruising brands champion responsible tourism?
Excellent question. Firstly, I think they can support expedition cruising brands that have already built in some very detailed policies surrounding sustainability and avoid the ones that don’t have anything in place. Direct clients to the brands that are doing the right thing. Secondly, expedition cruising companies and trade community already meet at various conferences and shows – so they can continuously prioritise sustainability as one of the headline topics at these events. On a basic level, it is important for trade to understand what expedition cruising truly is as a concept. This allows them to convey the ethics; the educational aspect, the connection to the environment and people – to clients before they join the ship.
How has expedition cruising positively changed your life?
Other than meeting my husband, I would say it made me reassess how I see travel. I started travelling when I was a teenager. I went backpacking in Brazil when I was 18 - but since then I’ve grown as a traveller. Going on my first expedition cruise in my 30s made me question why I travel. Do I go to places just to tick the country, or do I travel because I want deep, genuine experiences of the places I am visiting and to build relationships with people I meet?
My real reason for travel is that I want to understand the world better, I want to understand how places work, what cultures are built on, to meet people and listen to their stories.
My experience of travelling and working onboard expedition ships has taught me this is a very beautiful way to do that if you do it right. It’s great if the interaction between both sides is a positive experience – and that it is as much about the people and places we are visiting as it is about our travel experience. Without a doubt, my expedition cruise experiences have pushed me out of my comfort zone and has inspired me to explore ways of how to be a better traveller. It’s something that should matter to all of us.
Karen Edwards is a journalist, editor, writer, and a published author of four books: ‘The Responsible Traveller: A Practical Guide to Reducing Your Environmental and Social Impact, Embracing Sustainable Tourism and Travelling the World With a Conscience’; ‘The Planet-Friendly Kitchen: How to Shop and Cook with a Conscience’; ‘The Little Book of Activism’, and ‘365 of Mindful Meditations’. You can learn more about her and her work here. Her books are widely available through major booksellers.
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