Eco Friendly Tourism

There's more to ecotourism than recycling napkins and visits to wildlife parks, so read the small print before you book.

Eco travel is fast becoming big business, and as green spending power increases so do some travel firms' claims to sustainability.

We've all heard to the term 'ecotourism' bandied about, but not everyone knows exactly what it means. Once the preserve of the beard and sandals brigade, these days it is generally agreed that ecotourism - or sustainable tourism - involves travelling responsibly to regions in a way that helps protect the environment and benefits the lifestyle of the local people.

Ecotourism can encompass a wide range of features, but you would probably expect it to include accommodation built from local, preferably recycled, materials, fairly-paid staff from the immediate area, energy from renewable sources where possible, and water-saving policies. Eco holidays should have no impact on the natural environment, and help maintain traditional cultures and customs.

Trips can vary from exclusive, luxurious spa breaks that make use of all the latest environmentally friendly technology, to simple walking holidays, camping or staying in adobe huts with local hosts. To some extent you have to sort the wheat from the chaff, as there are a number of travel firms who have jumped on the lucrative green bandwagon with only a nod in the direction of ecological principles.

It's not ecotourism if the resort café simply has Fairtrade coffee, includes visits to the homes of the locals, or uses solar power. What you need to look out for are wide ranging measures that cover the whole experience.

There are hotels, for instance, which are furnished in almost 100% recycled material, and invest in efficient technologies that minimise their use of electricity and water. Other travel operators work alongside welfare or conservation charities, offer the opportunity for customers to offset carbon emissions from flights or set up funding initiatives to benefit local communities directly.

So just how do you sort the green from the greenwash? The best way is to simply ask!

How do you minimise impact on the local environment?
How do you build environmental and cultural awareness?
Do you provide direct financial benefi ts for conservation?
Do you provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people
How do you fit in with host countries' political, environmental, and social climate?

While you can obviously form your own judgement of a company it would be helpful if there was an international form of classification, an eco star-rating system - to help you assess how green travel firms are. At the time of writing such a scheme doesn't exist, although there are various more scattered initiatives, which include:

Green Globe (www.greenglobe.org), a global benchmarking, certification and improvement system for sustainable travel and tourism.
The Association of Independent Tour Operators (www.aito.com) has introduced its own responsible tourism star-rating system for members.
The UK's Green Tourism Business Scheme (www.green-business.co.uk) lists over 1000 places to stay in England and Scotland and is a member of a European association known as the Voluntary Initiative for Sustainability in Tourism, which is trying to provide a universal certifi cation scheme.
The website www.responsibletravel.com provides a good overview of the issues involved and offers a wide range of ecotourism holidays, from holistic centres in the Greek islands to wildlife tours in the Antarctic.
The Travel Foundation (www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk) also airs the issues - and provides a handy list of the many ways individuals can travel more responsibly.


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