5 ways to travel more sustainably in Queensland

Overtourism isn’t just a buzz term relevant to Venice (pre-Covid, at least), it can happen anywhere as we love some places to death. Avoid treading the same path as everyone else and contributing to the problem by seeking out national parks you’ve never heard of or picking a town out on a map for its proximity to nature, rather than based on its popularity on Instagram.

By putting nature first, you give yourself the opportunity to not only discover Queensland’s (free!) biodiversity bounty but to focus your annual leave on appreciating the very places that deserve the sustainable changes you’re committing to making at home and on the road.

2. Visit a research station 

When planning a trip to Queensland, it’s likely the Great Barrier Reef factors into the equation, whether you’re dead set on joining a reef trip or you have reservations about whether it’s going to make you feel more hopeless about climate change. But it’s difficult to champion the protection of something when you don’t truly understand the danger if you don’t.

By delving into a specific pocket of the sprawling reef, with a purpose, you’ll gain a greater understanding and appreciation of its plight. While there are six island research stations in Queensland (at Lizard Island, Low Isles, Green Island, Orpheus Island, Heron Island and One Tree Island) you can see scientists at work and even get involved at stations found on Heron, Orpheus and Lizard Islands where, collectively, 80 percent of scientific research has been conducted.

Famed for its high levels of biodiversity, Heron Island has been a research hub since before WWII. The University of Queensland's Heron Island Research Station is open for tours and is one of the most popular activities on offer at Heron Island Resort.

Guests at Orpheus Island can opt-in for an eco tour to the The Orpheus Island Research Station, operated by James Cook University where, you might rub shoulders with marine scientists conducting integral research on the impacts of climate change and sea level rise. On Lizard Island you can volunteer to assist with maintenance over a two-week period, or highly qualified divers (divemasters or instructors) can register as Research Volunteers at the Australian Museum research facility.

3. Support local artists

Sustainability goes beyond environmental impact. Tourism is at once a vital part of the world’s economy, and one of the biggest producers of greenhouse emissions. For travel to contribute to a sustainable future for the planet, it needs to support the people behind it – like the creators who bring beauty to our lives.

Supporting local artists isn’t just a feel-good way to feed the local community. Buying locally-made art, visiting a gallery, watching a performance, or taking place in an art class or workshop ensures the survival of culture, the passing-on of skills, and helps to preserve the platform for important issues – like the climate crisis – to be seen, heard and pondered.

Whether you’re taking a road trip to discover the silo and water tower art breathing new life into Queensland Country and Outback Queensland, learning 60,000 years of history and culture through rock art galleries and Indigenous festivals, or buying a handmade item direct from the maker, you’ll start to shift consumerism towards a more sustainable model.

4. Eat hyper-local

As a food-obsessed nation, Australians are well versed in eating local. It’s a no-brainer that eating local ensures fresher produce with less food miles.

On your quest for sustainable travel, no matter where you’re travelling, think about seasonality as well as food miles. Is it normal to find berries on the breakfast menu during summer in Queensland? Should you expect reef fish served in the outback not to come with a huge carbon price tag?

While researching where to eat, seek out small owner-operated cafes and restaurants, local markets, the best paddock-to-plate options, and larger operators who walk the talk, like Crystalbrook Collection’s Cairns hotels. The company farms their own beef and 80% of produce for restaurants and bars is sourced from within a three-hour radius.

5. Aim for carbon positive

You know there’s a whole raft of ways you can reduce your carbon output while travelling (choosing public transport or cycling over cars, sailing over mega liners, camping more, and eating less meat, for starters) but what if the aim was to be carbon positive?

Think deeper and you’ll find there’s a wide range of regenerative tourism experiences for you to add-on or use as the basis for your trip.

There are regenerative agri-tourism experiences at Gleneden Family Farm near Warwick, beach clean-ups (like Eco Barge Clean Seas in The Whitsundays) and tree-planting projects, citizen science projects and tours like Sunlover's Marine Biologist for a Day, wildlife conservation tours and volunteer programs, and the chance to contribute to coral regeneration at the Museum of Underwater Art in Townsville.

More ways to travel sustainably in Queensland

• Use this guide to travel like an eco-tourist
• Explore the best eco-friendly experiences on the Great Barrier Reef
• Heading to the Gold Coast? Here are 15 eco-friendly experiences
• Enjoy a sustainable city break in Brisbane
• Take a slow family holiday in Queensland
• Search for more eco-tourism experiences and accommodation options here