Environmental and Sustainable Tourism

Each year more people travel and the environmental impact of tourism only gets worse. Tourists are inclined to produce large quantities of litter- few tourists recycle on the road, hotels are energy inefficient, and airplanes spew carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. All in all- travel can be a pretty environmentally unfriendly experience.

With climate change and other environmental issues looming large, it’s more important than ever before that we make our travels environmentally safe. Over the past decade, a new trend has emerged within in the travel industry called “eco-tourism” to turn travel green and make green doing it.

Eco-tourism seeks to reduce the travel’s impact- both on the environment and on local people. Green travel promotes environmental and social awareness and, usually, eco-tours go to destinations where the flora and fauna are abundant. Think of places such as Costa Rica, Tanzania, the Amazon, and New Zealand.

The official definition is that Eco-tourism connects conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. This means that those who implement and participate in responsible and environmental tourism activities should follow eth following eco-tourism principles:

• minimize impact
• build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
• provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts
• provide direct financial benefits for conservation
• provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people
• raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climate

Types of Eco-Tours
There are many types of eco-tours. Eco-tours can be general tours that are simply “green” or they can focus in on a specific issue. Some tours just seek to use local goods, providers, and stay in environmentally efficient hotels. Others focus on specific issues such as:

• Volunteering: Many tours are based on participants volunteering in local community initiatives and clean up projects.
• Local Cultures: Many tours focus on educating groups about the local culture. This includes cooking classes, home stays, and language classes. The idea is to spread cultural respect and understanding while decreasing everyone’s environmental impact.
• Environmental education: These tours focus on highlight environmental issues in a local area and what can be done to improve the situation.

How it Helps
Eco-tourism promotes awareness among travelers and tries to reduce the environmental impact of travel. Companies use local goods, local guides, and frequent businesses that use sustainable and low impact business methods.

Moreover, it promotes local conservation and trains locals on how protecting the environment is good for the planet but also for their wallet. Many companies run conservation programs and train locals on how to look after the environment. After all, no plants and animals means no tourists.

Beyond the environmental impact there is also the social impact of travel. By creating self sustaining industries, eco-tours try to help improvised communities develop financial independence and give them less incentive to cut down the environment that feeds them and brings in tourists.

We strongly encourage you to travel green and also use green tourist companies so that the places you visit are there for future generations to visit.

Additional Information:
Tips for Green Travel
Green, Eco Tour Travel Companies
Green Hotels