Whenever we travel, there’s an inherent expectation that we will experience the best a place has to offer, whether it be through dining at the finest restaurants, taking part in various cultural practices or even simply staying at the best hotel.

We forget that within every place lies a side we don’t often get to see. Our focus on “having a good time” blinds us to what realities might be staring back at us through our tinted tour bus window.

With the rise of the “socially conscious” traveller we are in the beginning stages of recognising not just the impact we have on a place, but also how oblivious we can be to the not so obvious.

There are some of us who choose to opt for volunteering trips abroad �" perhaps to teach at an underprivileged school or to offer a building hand for Habitat for Humanity, though I cannot help but question whether this is more to put our guilty minds at ease or for a sense of genuine social responsibility as “global citizens”.

We sign on to eco-tours out of an honest effort to be more conscientious, but are often at risk of being fooled by (most simply put) very, very good marketing. The “green tour” may not be as sustainable as we thought … or, even worse, be doing more damage than good.

Essentially, in our honest efforts, we fail at the first hurdle and we do not research as in-depth as we probably should. We take others’ word for it that this time, it’ll be different, that this isn’t just another ‘money-making scheme’.

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Image: Colorful facade of building in Little India, Singapore (Image credit: platongkoh/iStock)