We all know that planes are pretty bad for your carbon footprint, but sometimes it’s the only way to reach your destination. To help reduce your impact, you can do what’s known as carbon offsetting, or fly with companies that do. This basically means compensating for the extra emissions by reducing emissions in another area. It could be anything from using energy-saving lightbulbs to planting a tree to investing in a wind farm.
Once you’re inside the country, take buses and trains wherever you can. Not only is it better for the environment, it gives you a chance to see more of the country – and sometimes a funny dinner-party story about the time you met a man travelling with a seagull on a sleeper train.
Sure, you could stay at a 26-storey super-hotel with hot tubs in the rooms and a swim-up bar, but let’s be honest: who can hold a beer and swim at the same time anyway? Staying at locally-owned hotels and even homestays makes for a greener holiday (and a more unique experience). If you’re visiting a forest or jungle, you can also look for ecolodges, which are resorts dedicated to sustaining the local environment.
Tourism is a main source of income for a lot of countries, which means that, as a visitor, you can have a chance to make a significant positive contribution. Try and shop at local shops instead of chains, seek out local tour guides rather than big, international agencies and eat at family-run restaurants. Everyone knows they do the best food anyway.