Holidays are a wonderful way to relax, but if you’re environmentally conscious then you may well be a little concerned about how your holiday might impact on the environment. Obviously some people choose to holiday at home for this reason, but if you still want to travel abroad then there are ways that you can reduce the impact of doing so on the environment.
Air travel is a growing contributor to climate change as we are all aware, but if you do choose to travel by air, then choosing to have one longer holiday instead of 2 or 3 shorter ones in a year has less impact on the environment. Another thing you can do is to select to offset the carbon emissions created by the journey. This is done by paying someone to make an emission saving equivalent to the emissions created by your journey, or to fund an environmental project such as a wind farm. This isn’t a cure for climate change, but it does at least bring the impact level back to an effective zero.
When you are choosing your holiday destination, you can also look at what that location is trying to do to help lessen the impact of tourism as well. Some places do very little while others are doing a lot to try and if not stop the effects of tourism, at least put some of the money from tourism back into keeping the environment as it should be.
The ‘Green Card’ that The Foundation for a Sustainable Balearics have produced is one way in which one group of locations has taken on to try and help with the environmental issues. The foundation has as it’s primary priority the advancement of the development of the Balearic islands as a sustainable tourist destination.
It looks to height en the awareness of residents and tourists of the environmental and heritage values of the islands, and the importance of their preservation. It seeks to inform residents and visitors of the balance between human activity and the environment. It also seeks to fundraise in order to support different types of performances to be held in natural settings and initiatives which strive for sustainability through such instruments as the ‘Green Card’, merchandising, private financing and European projects related to sustainable development.
As a tourist, buying a ‘Green Card’ at a cost of 10 euros gives you discounts in 900+ establishments including cultural centres, natural areas, businesses, restaurants and much more. In return, you know that your money will be going to help with projects such as the improvement of the park at Alcudia in Majorca (S’albufera wetlands) where the foundation is working to improve general conditions including walkways that are in keeping with the environment and allow visitors to access the area without damaging anything.
There are many other projects which the foundation is attempting to assist with, this is just one of them, and obviously other tourist areas will be doing other things, but as a tourist, if you want to lessen your impact this is one way you can do so. You could also look at hiring bikes rather than a car while on holiday, and eating locally produced food rather than imported food as well, thus helping to lessen your impact while there.
