Sustainable Tourism in Australia - Can we do it?
Our Sustainable Family Road Trip: Practicing What We Preach
When you live and breathe sustainable hosting and care deeply about the future of tourism, it only makes sense to practice what you preach—even on holiday. So, when it came time for our summer break, we set out to have the most sustainable family holiday possible, making conscious choices to reduce our emissions, limit waste, and support local businesses along the way.
How Did We Do It?
🚗 Driving Electric & Supporting Local – We covered over 4,500 km across Australia in our EV, proving that long-distance road trips in an electric vehicle are not only possible but also comfortable and enjoyable. With a little planning, charging stops became an opportunity to explore places we’d usually drive past, adding to the adventure. More importantly, when we stopped to charge, we spent money in those towns—grabbing a coffee, picking up supplies, or trying out a local café. EV charging isn’t just about getting from A to B; it encourages visitors to slow down and contribute to local economies along the way.
But let’s be honest—every good road trip comes with a story, and ours included the classic “running out of fuel” moment! 😅 Just like many of us did on our first-ever long road trip in an ICE car, we slightly miscalculated our range, and the battery hit 0% 15km outside Mildura in 38-degree heat. The NRMA was on its way, but in true country hospitality style, a local table grape farmer named Daniel came to our rescue. He first pulled up in his ute with a diesel generator to give us a little charge, then invited us to his farm to charge off his 100kW solar system—which, impressively, had a payback period of just two years! We ended up having a great chat about renewables, farming, and regional life, turning what could have been a disaster into one of the highlights of our trip.
🏡 Choosing Sustainable Stays – Accommodation is a major contributor to holiday emissions, so we sought out places making an effort. We stayed in a mix of Airbnb homes and motels, prioritizing those using renewable energy, offering EV charging, or reducing waste. Not every place was perfect, but it was great to see properties taking steps in the right direction.
🍽️ Eating Local & Supporting Small Businesses – One of the joys of travel is discovering local flavors, and we made a point to eat at family-run restaurants, farm-to-table cafés, and markets. This not only supported regional economies but also reduced food miles. A highlight? The freshest oysters we’ve ever had on Kangaroo Island!
💧 Reducing Waste & Rethinking Single-Use Plastics – We packed reusable water bottles and coffee cups and managed to avoid buying single-use plastic… almost. Our only slip-up? The Melbourne Open, where we had no choice but to buy two plastic water bottles. If there had been refillable water stations available, we wouldn’t have needed to, which raises a great question: why aren’t more event venues making it easy for people to choose reusable options? This is a small change that could have a huge impact on waste reduction at major events.
What Could Be Better?
♻️ More Composting Options – One of the biggest challenges was managing food waste. While some places had compost bins, most didn’t, meaning we had to carry our scraps until we found a suitable place to dispose of them properly. If more accommodations and public spaces had composting or organics collection, this would make a huge difference in reducing landfill waste.
⚡ Better EV Charging Infrastructure – While we made it work, more reliable and conveniently located EV charging stations would make road-tripping in an EV even easier. In some locations, chargers were either occupied, out of service, or in areas that didn’t allow for convenient stops. More fast chargers in regional Australia would encourage even more travelers to make the switch to EVs.
Key Takeaways
Sustainable travel isn’t about perfection; it’s about making better choices when you can.
EV road-tripping is completely doable—and a great way to discover off-the-beaten-track locations while supporting local businesses.
Supporting local businesses makes for a richer, more connected travel experience.
Small changes, like carrying reusables and choosing sustainable stays, add up to a big impact.
Investing in better EV charging infrastructure is key to making sustainable travel accessible to more people.
Major events should provide better refillable water options to help travelers avoid single-use plastics.
We had an incredible time and left feeling inspired to continue making sustainable travel easier for everyone. If more travelers start asking for these options, we’ll see even greater change across the tourism industry.
Would you try a more sustainable holiday? Let us know your thoughts!
📖 To hear more about our adventures and what happened when our EV ran out of charge, check out this article by David in The Driven 👉https://thedriven.io/2025/01/30/ev-touring-what-happened-when-we-ran-our-byd-atto-3-battery-down-to-zero/