It’s easy finding ways to be green when you are at home and sticking to your usual routine. When you head out on holidays, whether it’s driving to the seaside or taking a further trip abroad, it can be a challenge to contain your carbon footprint. After all, you should be sampling the local fare, treating yourself to a spa treatment, room service and visiting the local attractions to truly immerse yourself in your holiday experience.
So what steps can you take to help reduce the impact of all your activities while still enjoying all of the fun?
1. Start by getting your own home ready for you to be away. Turn off all power at the source. Cancel your newspaper, cleaner and any regular food deliveries to avoid waste.
2. Next, take a look at your transport. If you are flying to your destination, opt in to the airline carrier’s carbon offset scheme. If you are driving or taking a bus or train that doesn’t offer a carbon offset program, consider making your own contribution or donation to a greening project or reforestation program.
3. Pack light. The heavier your car or plane, the more fuel you will chew up by the time you reach your holiday destination. Put simply, extra baggage means extra fuel. This way you will only take what you need.
4. Be cautious about stopovers. If you are not planning on spending time at a destination the plane stops in, choose a different flight. By taking a direct route, your plane will use much less fuel than one that needs to touch down and take off again.
5. Choose your accommodation wisely. The greener your hotel, the smaller your footprint. Look for relevant logos on websites.
6. Reusing towels in hotels. Fluffy white towels and robes are a lovely luxury when staying in nice hotels, but reuse them to save on wasted water and laundry use. Also, in case your hotel does not have amenity dispensers, bring your own shampoo to save on plastics and production that go into manufacturing the small toiletry kits provided.
7. Get around town on your bike—or walk! These are hands down the best way to get to know any new city and are great for site-seeing. Also get to know the local public transport rather than hire a car or take taxis. This way you will also get to see the authentic side of local life and culture while minimizing carbon use.
8. Bring your own travel water bottle and avoid buying plastic bottled water. If there are concerns about the quality of the local water, pick up some purification tablets from a travel supply shop or camping store before you go.
9. Watch impulse buying. Picking up a lasting keepsake to remind you of your trip is fun, but keep impulse buying to a minimum since a lot of unnecessary tourist items end up as landfill.
10. Avoid eateries that use disposable cutlery and plates where possible. Pack your own if street food is the order of the day. Camping stores sell light and portable cutlery. And don’t forget to pack your own reusable shopping bags for shopping at markets or food halls.
Traveling is a rich and rewarding part of life and should be savoured to its fullest. While staying green is more difficult away from home, and especially while on the road, there is no need to completely abandon your goals. With a little planning you can travel green and give future generations the chance to share and enjoy the same exciting travel experiences you did.
Gina Withey has more than 20 years of experience in the travel and hospitality industry in the areas of sales, marketing and operations. An Orlando, Fla. native, Gina has held positions as Director of Sales, Regional Director of Sales and Marketing, National Sales Manager and Corporate Sales Manager, in particular in the corporate travel segment. Gina is currently Regional Director Sales and Marketing and oversees staySky Resort Management’s marketing and advertising for staySky Hotels & Resorts and sits on the Global Marketing Committee for Visit Orlando.
