Better late than never. Here’s my contribution to Earth Day. I have often written that the travel industry needs to do more to protect the environment. We as consumers have a part to play in this though by being more conscious of the environment when we travel.

Last week I emailed a number of travel companies and writers, bloggers to ask for their opinions on what the impact travel is having on the environment for Earth Day, and what travel companies and travellers need to do, to help.

Environment travel poll

Not surprisingly 60% out of 115 voters on my Earth Day poll said that the environment is not a factor when they are booking a holiday. I wonder if consumers would contribute to the environment projects and charities if companies gave them the opportunity.

Concerted effort by hoteliers

Consciousness of the environment has long been ingrained in our everyday practice. We understand the impact we have on the environment and so always aim to ensure we give back as much as we take. This foresight has helped us build a strong platform sustained in the current climate.

A concerted effort by hoteliers across the industry should include minimising waste and decreasing the use of energy, something we firmly believe in and apply across the business.

Depesh – Warner Leisure Hotels

Green holidays can be fun

The environmental issue is massive and complex, and clearly travelling is an area where we can do a lot of harm. It shouldn’t be a question of choosing less enjoyable holidays though; instead it should be about sourcing great holidays which can also do well for the environment & places we visit.

We believe that by choosing ‘local’ we can benefit the local people, culture and places wherever we travel. Yes there will always be some impact from the transport in getting there, but ultimately we all need to respect the individual’s wish to make their own trade-offs across all aspects of their lives.

Ben – Tourdust.com

Every bit helps the environment

Travel broadens our horizons and helps with inter cultural relations…unfortunately it also has a significant impact on the environment. I’d encourage travellers to avoid buying extra items and travel gear one wouldn’t use at home, even if they’re marketed as earth-friendly. That creates extra waste.

A good idea to help reduce your ‘footprint’ is choosing environmentally responsible tour operators like Context Travel or GAP Adventures. Every little bit helps, and it’s important to encourage companies to do the right thing, what better way than by giving the responsible ones tourism dollars.

Kim – Go Galavanting

Cruises having a massive impact

Responsible tourism is about making better places to live in, better places to visit. As a world travelling family, we love that idea. Interestingly, slow travel is much cheaper than fast travel, so helpful in this economy. We travelled to 4 continents, 29 countries and only took one long airplane flight.

Cruise ships are popular, but they are the most harmful tourism to our environment. We have seen the massive cruise ship invasions of 30,000 people at once into small towns like Dubrovnik and Mykonos. If we want travel and this beautiful earth to be around for our children and grandchildren.

We must all become more aware and more responsible. Not just on Earth Day, but every day.

Jeanne – Soultravelers3

Bad behaviour by tourists

Protecting our environment should be our foremost responsibility both at home and when we travel. During my travels, I’ve often seen horrendous behaviour by tourists, like those who: stray off the beaten path and trample through virgin rainforests; buy new bottles of water every day; dump towels that have been used once; or throw plastic wrappings around.

My gravest concern is that people may be more eco-conscious at home than when they travel. Our contribution to the protection of the environment is in the small deeds which we practise at home but may overlook when we travel. These small deeds, when added up, make the biggest difference.

Keith – Velvet Escape

Environmental wishes

While great strides have been made in reducing the impact of travel on the environment, there is still plenty of opportunity for improvement. If I had three wishes for Earth Day, they would be, make carbon offsetting of airline flights affordable for everyone and include this cost on the base fare of all tickets.

Ensure countries are investing equally in efficient methods of transport, such as railways, not only on projects like airport expansion and rollout programmes consistent world-wide to monitor travel impact, such as New Zealand’s Responsible Tourism standard.

Andy – Sharing Experiences

Leave your thoughts and opinions

Thank you to Depesh, Ben, Kim, Jeanne, Keith and Andy for taking the time to share your thoughts on the impacts of travel and the environment. If you have any thoughts to add then please do leave them in the comments section, and let’s see what tips and advice readers can offer to help the environment.

• Let’s be more responsible and make travel greener
• Blog Action Day – Let’s help the environment
• Flying and the environment Interview with Boeing
• Another reason why not to trust hotel and cruise reviews
• Nile Cruises – An alternative way to see Egypt

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