Eco-tourism empowers local communities worldwide while fighting poverty, promoting culture, and enhancing the understanding and appreciation for nature.
A responsible travel option to natural areas that conserves our plant and the environment, eco-holidays, and eco-friendly tourism sustain nature and the local people that inhabit the desired location. Eco-tourism strives to provide positive benefits to both the visitors and the hosts while building cultural and environmental awareness, uniting conservation and eco-friendly travel with more impoverished communities to empower them. Eco-holidays are slowly becoming a more prominent vacation trend, and it’s undoubtedly one of the kindest ways we can traverse our planet. Unlike large resorts and mega-metropolis hotels, eco-friendly options allow tourists to get to know a country’s culture from its very roots; the people.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about this latest holiday trend!
The Importance of Eco-Tourism
If you browse social media or keep up to date with news on our planet, you’ll know that there’s a lot of doom and gloom out there. People are trying many methods to reduce their carbon footprint, including going vegan, reducing their plastic waste, and lowering their emissions. However, what about travelling abroad? Unfortunately, travelling across the globe can be incredibly detrimental to our planet. Cruise ships, for one, are extremely harmful to our seas and wildlife, dumping billions of gallons of sewage into our oceans each year. And the damage doesn’t stop there. But, should we have to sacrifice vacations and travelling to save our planet? The good news is, absolutely not, because there are hundreds of ways to travel and go on vacation that are kind and respectful to our environment!
Eco-Friendly Travel Alternatives
To the people that love plane journeys, you’ll be disappointed to read that the best way to reduce C02-emissions is to avoid planes altogether! Sadly, short-distance aviation causes the most pollution per kilometre. However, there are a few ways to reduce your carbon footprint while travelling. Going economy-class is one way to lower your impact, as they are more efficient. On top of this, some companies try to offset your emissions by planting trees or investing in green-energy production. One such company is FlyGRN, a flight search engine that earns commission per ticket sold, which they use to offset your travel emissions by investing in solar-panel projects in India. Another great company to look into before you travel is Better Places Travel, which works with locals to bring you high-end sustainable travel experiences! 
Eco Facts:
A great way to help the environment is right at your fingertips – literally! Running on renewable energy, Ecosia is a search engine that plants a tree for every search. Thanks to swapping over to Ecosia, users have planted over 130,000,000 trees; that’s over a million kilograms of C02 removed from our atmosphere!
Eco-Holidays and Tourism
Possibly the most significant way to reduce your impact is by staying close to home. When it comes to eco-staycationing, there are plenty of self-catering accommodations in the UK.
Eco Cottages are one such example, a family-run company with over 30 cottages across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. They pride themselves on their self-catering cottages that are kind to the environment, and their eco-friendly luxury stays are defined by classic English charm.
But you don’t have to staycation on eco-holidays. Many conservation-based destinations usually offer plenty of options when it comes to eco-friendly accomodation. And Malaysia, India and Brazil are just a few places that offer fantastic eco-holidays; all it takes is a little research and your best efforts to offset any carbon emissions you may put out!
Food, Plastic Waste and your Carbon Footprint
There’s a lot of debate between vegans and meat-eaters on whether veganism is the future of our diets. Both sides have strong arguments on how veganism affects the environment. However, it’s scientifically backed that simply reducing the quantity of meat you eat is beneficial to the planet. Another way to reduce your carbon food-print is to eat locally sourced products and avoid buying plastic-wrapped foods. This method applies to holidays, too, where it’s tempting to purchase snacks and ready-made foods to avoid cooking. It’s so important to take steps into reducing the amount of plastic you buy and throw away to avoid images like below!
Buying locally sourced products, eating clean, and home-cooking play a considerable role in protecting the environment. But if you’re not feeling up to the position of chef, why not try eating out at an eco-friendly restaurant? Try a quick search of your area; maybe you’ll find some new, excellent eco-friendly alternatives; good for the environment and great for your stomach! Simple diet adjustments can be fun and exciting, as well as beneficial to the environment.
Consider An Eco-Adventure
Climate change is a real thing, but that doesn’t mean it has to be doom-and-gloom when it comes to planning a holiday. There are so many ways to reduce your carbon footprint and have a fantastic experience at the same time! So, when it comes to your next adventure, why not try eco-tourism, a thoughtful way to enjoy travelling. 
For more ideas on how to reduce your carbon emissions, check out Energy Saving Trust.
