Happy holidays, happy planet Print E-mail
Written by Gillian Thomas, 2008   
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Are you accumulating carbon-laden air miles? Using up precious local resources abroad? Ignoring local communities? It's time you considered responsible travel, says Gillian Thomas.

Cycling across Devon... walking beside the Rhine in Germany... staying in an eco-lodge in South Africa - all sorts of holidays enable you to congratulate yourself on being a 'responsible' traveller - or an 'ethical', 'eco' or 'green' one.

Label them how you like, some holidays are definitely better for the planet than others. But being a responsible traveller does not necessarily involve giving up flying and confining yourself to holidaying locally.

Tourism, the world's biggest industry, is a lifeline to many communities around the world, providing jobs in hotels, shops and leisure activities. Indeed, as campaigning charity Tourism Concern points out, it is a double catastrophe if they are hit by a natural disaster or violent unrest and tourists then stay away.

Personally, as a travel writer, I am finding it more and more difficult to justify what I do, because the job not only involves travelling myself but also encouraging others to do so.

I have no immediate plans to become a stay-at-home, but I do try to travel by train whenever possible and I've given up flying anywhere for a short break (Christmas shopping in New York, for example, has become a definite no-no). Also I 'offset' the carbon costs of all my journeys by donating to environmental projects through the Climate Stewards website www.climatestewards.net

So, where to stay?

Locally owned accommodation that serves locally sourced food, uses sustainable energy and blends with its surroundings is surely the kind of place every responsible traveller hopes to find.

Encouragingly more and more such holiday havens do exist, from tipis in Cornwall and tree houses in Burgundy to eco-lodges and camps in far-flung places like the Peruvian rain forest and Sri Lanka, which incidentally is aiming to become the world's first 'carbon neutral tourism country'.
 
Interesting places like these contrast sharply with large, glossy, multinational hotels and resorts, which all tend to have a similar feel and use a lot of resources, especially those with spas and golf courses.

Furthermore, most inject little money into their local economy, except by providing jobs for cleaners and kitchen staff. Nor do they encourage another worthwhile aspect of travel - meaningful contact with the local community.

Village Ways

In the foothills of the Himalayas, Village Ways is a unique Indian tourism project, which is providing work for local people and enables visitors to explore the beautiful Binsar wildlife sanctuary. In five villages, authentic guesthouses (with solar-powered hot water for showers and lighting) have been constructed by local craftsmen.

Villagers have attended locally run training in various 'tourism' skills such as catering and guiding. Walking routes from village to village have been mapped out and visitors get full board including packed lunches. Transfers are organised from Delhi, either by road or overnight train. www.villageways.com

Cretan tradition

In Western Crete, a co-operative of local people in Vamos has got together to restore their whole village, using traditional techniques to renovate and convert some of the dilapidated houses for self-catering holidays.

It also runs a taverna, which serves traditional Cretan dishes made from local produce. Bookable through www.responsibletravel.com, which features holidays from nearly 300 specialist tour operators.

Cruise the English canals

A narrowboat holiday on the English canals is a great way to wind down and enjoy every detail of the countryside as you cruise along at 4mph, shop at village stores and farms and patronise waterside pubs. www.black-prince.com

Holiday activities

Holidays are the ideal opportunity to try out a new activity - but it doesn't need to be motorised to be challenging or exciting. Why not have a go at parascending, kite-surfing or wakeboarding, which are all on offer on the Isle of Wight (www.x-is.co.uk).

Or if you like walking you could push yourself up a gear and go on a trek. Cyclists can try mountain-biking - there are lots of these holidays on offer through www.responsibletravel.com

Jet skis and jeep safaris are my pet hates. I find it hard to think of any holiday pursuit that is more invasive than someone roaring noisily to and fro on the water when I am lazing on a beach, and 4x4s speeding off-road across moors and dunes, disturbing wildlife and damaging fragile vegetation.

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