Introducing: Make Holidays Greener Week

There’s no doubt that we’re all much more conscious of what we can do to protect the environment when we’re at home. For most of us, greener habits have become the norm, from recycling to turning off the lights when we don’t need them – it’s easy, effective and costs us nothing. By taking these simple, but effective green habits with us when we go away we can make a real difference to the environment and local people in holiday destinations too. 

This year, The Travel Foundation has launched its first awareness campaign for holidaymakers called Make Holidays Greener Week in order to spread this message.  We’re urging holidaymakers to do just three simple things this summer to make a difference.  Top tips include: Buying local to ensure local communities benefit; having short showers instead of a baths to save water; and reducing the amount of plastic that goes into landfill by using alternatives to plastic bags.  

These may seem like small changes, but if everyone took part just imagine the difference it would make. If we take plastic bags for example, it’s estimated that one million are used around the world every minute. As well as creating unsightly litter that is potentially harmful to the wildlife that we travel to see, the plastic can take hundreds of years to break down into tiny pieces, which then pollutes soils, rivers and oceans. For many island destinations in particular disposing of plastic waste is a real issue, with land-fill sites bursting at the seams. Similarly, water scarcity is a growing issue for hotter, drier destinations.  

In 2009, a severe drought in Cyprus meant that fresh water had to be imported.  By 2030, it is thought that demand for water world-wide is likely to outstrip accessible, reliable supply by 40%.  

The Cypriate village of Foini, which is on one of five self-drive routes initiated by the Travel FoundationAnother effective way for holidaymakers to make a difference to their destination is to support communities by buying local products and taking local excursions. In Cyprus, for example, the Travel Foundation has helped to create some wonderful self-drive village routes to some of the lesser known parts of the island.  Local communities benefit as visitors help to restore life and bring income to rural villages and tourists gain a more authentic experience. 

We’re delighted that Greentraveller.co.uk has got behind Make Holidays Greener Week.  Some of the country’s leading travel companies have also lent their support and planned activities range from turning travel shops green here in the UK, to events in overseas resorts, such as cooking demonstrations featuring local delicacies and recycling drives. 

Done well, tourism can help provide communities around the world with vital income and can provide the resources to protect important places and threatened species. We can all play a part in making this a reality and in so doing we will ensure that there are wonderful and thriving holiday destinations for us all to visit for years to come.

See Greentraveller's tip on How to have a greener holiday.