Responsible travel on a luxury 7-day Sri Lanka itinerary

Responsible travel on a luxury 7-day Sri Lanka itinerary starts with spending. A luxury week puts several thousand dollars into the economy, and who receives it depends on what you book. Locally owned lodges, bungalows and villas keep more of it in the country than international chains.

Small luxury properties are also labour-intensive, often with three or four staff for each room, most hired locally. Ask where staff come from, whether they are employed year round and how service charges are shared. Good operators can answer.

The chauffeur-guide is the person your choices affect most directly. Underpaid drivers depend on commission from shops and attractions, which distorts the trip. A guide who is paid a proper daily rate, with accommodation and meals covered, has no need to steer you anywhere.

Tip fairly at the end. Respect working hours as well. A day that begins at 5.30am and ends after a late dinner is 15 hours for the guide, and a week of those is too many. Release the car early when you can.

Sri Lanka's wildlife is a reason to come and a responsibility. Elephants seen in national parks such as Minneriya, Udawalawe and Yala are wild. Elephants offered for riding or bathing, at roadside camps and some well-known orphanages, are captive, chained and trained through fear.

Turtle hatcheries that let visitors hold hatchlings or keep adults in tanks do harm, however kindly meant. Watch nesting turtles at night with a community project instead. At sea, choose whale-watching skippers who keep their distance and never chase.

The first two nights of the week are in the dry zone, where villages depend on ancient reservoirs and water is short for months at a time. A private pool and a twice-daily change of towels have a cost that guests do not see. Reuse towels and keep showers short at Sigiriya.

Plastic is the visible problem. Carry a refillable bottle and ask the hotel to fill it with filtered water, which most luxury properties now provide in glass. Decline plastic straws and bags. On beaches and trails, take out what you brought in.

Respect at religious sites is simple and matters. Cover shoulders and knees, remove shoes and hats, and never pose with your back to a Buddha image. Ask before photographing people, especially tea pluckers and worshippers, and accept a refusal.

Do not give sweets, pens or money to children, which encourages begging and keeps some out of school. If you want to help, ask your operator about a school or community project that accepts donations properly.

Air transfers are the hardest question for a responsible luxury traveller. A helicopter burns a great deal of fuel to carry two people 150 kilometres, and a small aircraft rather less. Neither compares well with a hybrid car on the same route.

Lankan Stays & Trails suggests flying only where it changes the trip, usually on arrival day, and driving the rest. The company pays its guides a full wage, takes no shop commission and does not sell elephant rides. Travellers should expect the same of anyone they book with.

Responsible choices are easiest to make before booking. Five questions cover most of the ground, and the answers tell you a good deal about the company you are dealing with.

Ask who owns the hotels proposed, how the guide is paid, whether any activity involves captive animals, what the properties do about water and plastic, and whether each flight is necessary. Clear answers are a good sign. Evasion is a reason to look elsewhere.