Going abroad on holiday is probably one of the worst things we can do to the environment as individuals.  We fly long distances, emitting greenhouse gases into the most sensitive parts of the atmosphere; we stay in hotels where linen is washed daily and swim in their pools, which use copious amounts of local water.  However, going on holiday is something we enjoy more of, as domestic spending increases.  Research by Deloitte, commissioned by VisitBritain and the Tourism Alliance, has shown that the British tourism industry alone is worth some £114bn [1] and is expected to grow substantially more during the time of the Olympics in 2012.  If you are feeling a little guilty about the environmental impact your holiday may have, here are a few tips on how to reduce that impact.

Change your mode of transport

It is not always easy to choose another form of transport to get to your holiday destination.  However, if you can spare a little extra time, rather than flying you can choose to travel by coach, train or boat.  By choosing these methods of transport, your carbon emissions will be shared by the number of people on the same vehicle as you, and unlike flying, the emissions from coaches, trains and boats is already considerably lower.   The other positive is that you will get to travel through the countries you are visiting rather than just flying over them at high altitude.  This can give a much more enjoyable experience and you get to see things you wouldn’t normally see from an air seat.

Interestingly, virtually all destinations around Europe are reachable by train and bus, but despite this, 45 per cent of air journeys in Europe cover less than 500km [2].

There are many companies which provide road transport around the world.

• Eurolines provides coach travel across Europe [3].
• Busabout, lets you hop on and off buses across Europe allowing more flexibility in where you can go and when [4].
• Greyhound offers coach travel across the United States.  It boasts about its green credentials, generating three times less carbon dioxide per mile per passenger than a hybrid vehicle, and taking close to 40 cars off the road every day [5].

Finally, the car.  Not the best form of transport for a holidaying couple.  However, if you have a low emissions car, consider taking your friends and family on holiday with you.  While rail and ferry travel is often considered the most eco-friendly form of motorised transport, a low emissions car with three or more passengers can be just as carbon efficient, as can a full coach [6].

Take holidays closer to home

There are great places to see in Britain without having to step on board a plane.  Of course it takes longer to get around, but Britain is full of many diverse landscapes, people and cultures and taking a holiday here can be an enjoyable experience.  If the weather is good you can camp in a tent, thereby reducing carbon emissions of staying in a hotel.  There is a fantastic National Cycle Network in the UK allowing you to travel across the UK.  The Network is made up of 12,600 miles of walking and cycling routes across the UK [7].  You can travel by coach and train across large parts of the country too and there are ferries to Ireland and France which have very small carbon emissions.  There is an area called the Greenbox in Ireland which offers the opportunity to experience a green holiday.  The area of the Greenbox includes Counties Fermanagh, Leitrim, West Cavan, North Sligo, South Donegal and North West Monaghan [8] which offers plenty of scope for exploration in an environmentally friendly way.

Embrace cities

Cities offer a lot of opportunities to reduce your carbon footprint.  You can hire bikes to travel around instead of using taxis or buses.  You can eat in organic restaurants, to reduce emissions involved in the production of your food.  You can stay in eco hotels which are committed to reducing the environmental impacts of their business.

Take part in eco-tourism

Eco-tourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people [10].  It helps support local economies whilst offering the chance to travel sustainably, explore more unusual destinations and help out with conservation programmes.  Common eco tourist desinations include rainforests and monitoring whales and dolphins.  Downsides to eco-tourism is that it can be quite costly, you can sometimes be on a working holiday so it may not feel like a break, and you can still have to travel by air to some of the more remote destinations.

Or why not consider offsetting some of your carbon emissions from your holiday with ESW’s offsetting service?

Help is at hand

There are many companies which offer help in finding the perfect green holiday for your budget and needs.  Green Traveller [6] and Responsible Travel [9] are organisations that help you to plan a greener holiday.  Alistair Sawday’s [11] offers some tried and tested green and ethical hotels to stay in across the globe.

References

[1] Opodo Travel News (2008) British Tourism Industry ‘Worth £114bn’ http://news.opodo.co.uk/NewsDetails/2008-11-12/British_tourism_industry__worth___163_114bn_

[2]  The Ecologist (2009) Dilemma: How Do You Define Unnecessary Travel http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/out_and_about/272289/dilemma_how_do_you_define_unneccesary_travel.html

[3] Eurolines (2010) www.eurolines.co.uk

[4]  Busabout (2010)  http://www.busabout.com/

[5]  Greyhound (2010) http://www.greyhound.com

[6]  Green Traveller (2010) http://www.greentraveller.co.uk/

[7] Sustrans (2010) National Cycle Network http://www.sustrans.org.uk/what-we-do/national-cycle-network

[8]  Greenbox (2010) http://www.greenbox.ie/about-greenbox.php

[9] Responsible Travel (2010) http://www.responsibletravel.com

[10] The International Ecotourism Society (2010) What is Ecotourism?  http://www.ecotourism.org/site/c.orLQKXPCLmF/b.4835303/k.BEB9/What_is_Ecotourism__The_International_Ecotourism_Society.htm

[11] Alistair Sawday’s Ethical Collection (2010) http://www.sawdays.co.uk/ethical_collection/