Sustainable travel

How much does it matter to you what impact your family holiday, or your business trip is having on the environment? Do you carefully consider carbon footprint before booking a flight for example? Travel Counsellors recent survey suggests that increasingly we are all aware of what impact, good or bad, our travelling to a certain destination might have on the planet and more specifically on a particular country or region too.

Our recent customer survey showed that you’re as passionate as we are about responsible travel. For us, it means working to ensure tourism brings greater benefits for local people and economies in destinations, offering positive choices which are not harmful to people, animals or the environment.

In our poll, 73% of you said that sustainable travel is one of the factors you consider when choosing a holiday and 6% consider it the main factor. Furthermore, a full 90% of you said that if you knew which companies specialised in sustainable travel, you’d be more likely to book travel with them, and 94% of you would like to learn more about how your holiday can help local people and the economy.

That’s where Travel Counsellors comes in. We care for our people, our customers and our communities – both those we live in and those we send our customers to every day. I can give you advice on the right steps to make a positive impact through your travel.

Everyone who joins Travel Counsellors signs up to our commitment to learn about and consider responsible tourism in every holiday they create. We work with international charity The Travel Foundation to help leave a better world for future generations to enjoy and explore. The foundation works to ensure tourism benefits local people and the environment, designing and delivering sustainable initiatives in mainstream destinations as well as providing guidance, training and expertise to travel companies around the world. For us at Travel Counsellors, sustainable travel is also related to more authentic travel experiences – visiting unspoilt places and immersing oneself in the local culture is our passion and one that’s shared with our customers.

The three pillars of sustainable travel according to National Geographic are environmentally friendly practices, protecting natural and cultural heritage and providing social and economic benefits for local communities.

So how can you help? The obvious starting point is to reduce your travel waste by reusing and recycling where possible, carrying your own reusable water bottle for example. More and more resorts are coming on board all the time with these initiatives, but clearly there is a long way to go yet.

Would you consider travelling by train rather than by air for part of your journey perhaps? After all overland travel is far more immersive, allowing you to see much more of a destination than you can via aeroplanes and airports. Apart from Europe, India and South East Asia as well as China, all lend themselves well to “slow travel” with some exceptional rail journeys on offer.

One way to have a more responsible holiday is to buy locally made crafts and souvenirs which might not always be cheaper but does ensure your money is genuinely supporting the local economy.

As your Travel Counsellor, I can suggest excursions using local companies and guides as well as recommend local treats to look out for in your destinations, from locally made souvenirs to regional specialities in bars, cafés and restaurants.