How To Have A Sustainable Holiday

With Christmas over for another year, January is a time when many people start to plan holidays for the rest of the year in order to have something to look forward to through the rest of the winter months. It’s often a good idea to book in advance to get the best deals, but what about making a holiday as sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible? So many areas of life have a direct or indirect impact on the environment, and holidays can be a big culprit, but this needn’t be the case. This article looks at how a holiday can be more sustainable but still enjoyable.

One of the first and most important things to consider in deciding on a holiday destination is how to get there. Flying leaves behind a huge carbon footprint so it is worth thinking about travelling somewhere closer to home or somewhere where journeying by another means of transport is still feasible. A train or ferry journey, for example, can actually be a fun part of the holiday with excellent services available in and around Europe. If flying is the best option for the destination in mind, consider offsetting the carbon from the trip.

In terms of the destination itself, sustainable tourism is very important. Respecting an area’s culture and heritage should be part of any trip, as well as having consideration for the availability of local resources such as water and energy. Overall a holiday should not leave a negative impact on the visited area, leaving it for locals and future tourists to enjoy. Tourism plays a vital role in economies the world over, but it is of great importance, nevertheless, to respect the area to be visited rather than destroying its charm or having an unnecessarily negative environmental impact.

By: Hayley Jones

Hayley Jones is the Web Marketing Director for www.uk-energy-saving.com. For more information on the subject in this article visit their Green Tourism page at www.uk-energy-saving.com/green_tourism.html.