tourism – The Green Tau

Counting on day … 160

30th August 2024

Practising the same environmentally friendly habits on holiday as we do at home. This can include using active travel over cars for getting around; carrying a keep cup to avoid single use takeaway cups; using a refillable water bottle; showers rather than baths – and if we are somewhere where there are water shortages such as in Sicily, being very careful not to waste water.

This approach might also include not buying things we don’t need. A souvenir that simply gathers dust when we come home is not always the best way of remembering a holiday. There is a saying that we should ‘Take nothing but pictures and leaven nothing but footprints’.

At the same time we may want to support the local economy where we are staying – which could be by using the local cafe or bar.

Counting on day … 159

29th August 2024

After travel and accommodation, food maybe the next consideration. We can, whether eating out or self catering, make our diet more or less environmentally friendly depending on what we choose to eat. Choosing a plant based diet will have a lower environmental impact than one based on dairy and/or meat. “Avoiding meat and dairy products is one of the biggest ways to reduce your environmental impact, according to scientific studies” (1)

(1)https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46459714

Further reading https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local

Counting on day … 158

28th August 2024

After travel, what accommodation? The following maybe of interest if you’re staying in a hotel.

“According to DEFRA, the carbon emissions of staying in a hotel in the UK are 10.4 kg CO2e. (Per room per night). How does this rank amongst the other available data? A figure of 10.4 kg CO2e per room per night ranks the UK a little outside the top five lowest impact hotel stays in 7th place. Overall, it is the 4th lowest footprint within the European countries where data is available. Only Switzerland, France and Spain outrank the UK.

“Figure 4 shows the top five countries as well as the UK in yellow for comparison. Although the UK has one of the lower carbon emissions per room per night, there are still significant opportunities for further reductions by increasing our use of renewable energy. Whilst Costa Rica has the advantage of consistent sunshine for its solar panels and France have a significant amount of nuclear power, they provide an example of where the UK would one day need to be.” (1)

Whilst The Home Camper and Campspace web site suggests 23kg CO2 emissions per night for a B and B, 21kg for a hotel and 0kg for a tent. (2)

I suspect there is more to be a sustainable, low carbon hotel than just the offer of ‘not washing your towels on a daily basis’ which is so often the sole suggestion made by hoteliers. I wish providing a good vegan menu were more often the case.

(2)https://campspace.com/en/p/find-your-sustainable-getaway_791

(1) https://circularecology.com/news/the-carbon-emissions-of-staying-in-a-hotel

Counting on … day 157

27th August 2024

Do our holidays adversely impact on the environment? Googling eco friendly holidays, I am surprised how many website focus on the eco credentials of the destination but not the mode of travel. This is not always the case and some websites do give advice on flight free holidays. Nevertheless the transport element of our holidays usually contributes most to its environmental impact.

“Global tourism accounts for about 8% of total greenhouse gas emissions and transport between origin and destination explains three quarters of this impact” (1) Cutting out flying will benefit the environment most. After that saving has been made, cutting back on the distance travelled will also have an impact. (2)