Environmental Travel Tips
Our responsibility to the earth doesn't go on hiatus when we travel. Ecotourism is the growing practice of ecologically sustainable exploration. Many activities are based on nature and culture and help contribute to the conservation of local heritage and environment. Ecotourism can give visitors deeper insight into the places they're visiting and everyone can go away with the satisfaction of having a minimal impact on the earth. Consider the following tips before your next vacation to have an eco-friendly and highly fulfilling trip.
Choose greener methods of transportation
Flying is one of the most environmentally unfriendly methods of travel. When booking your flights, choose routes with as few stopovers as possible. Planes produce more carbon emissions during takeoff and landing than any other time. Once you reach your destination, opt for public transit or try to rent a hybrid or bio-fuel vehicle. In warmer weather, combine adventure with the greenest ways to see sites – walking, hiking and biking.
 Consider carbon offsetting a vital cost of travel
Nobody should be made to feel guilty for seeing what the world has to offer, which is why many travellers try to maintain a carbon-neutral lifestyle. Through carbon offsetting, a system that works on credits, we can invest in green changes elsewhere that will help reduce global carbon dioxide emissions. This helps balance out the negative effects from activities like flying. It seems a little greedy to be able to pollute the earth and then pay someone else to make greenhouse gas reductions on your behalf, but consider that your investment will help make improvements that otherwise may not occur. (Read more about carbon offsetting from davidsuzuki.org.)
Leave packaging at home
Instead of throwing out packaging in resort garbage bins, take it with you. Many developing nations don't have recycling or waste disposal programs like we do in Canada, so it won't be disposed of properly (similarly, leave packaging from new toothbrushes, batteries and other travel items at home before you leave). You can also plan ahead by tossing an insulated cup into your luggage if you're headed to an all-inclusive resort. Not only will your beverages stay colder and be easily identifiable poolside, but imagine how many plastic cups you'll save if you continue to refill your own.
Pick green accommodations
Buying local isn't just for food. When choosing accommodation, support local businesses that make an effort to use environmentally friendly water and waste systems, are designed in traditional building style and employ staff from the community. This doesn't mean you have to opt for the most basic of accommodations – by researching your destination, you will be able to compare businesses and their environmental practices. Health and wellness retreats are known to be eco-friendly vacation spots because of their focus on low-impact living.
Go for eco-friendly activities
Eco tours can be anything from responsible rainforest tours to horseback riding or relaxing wildflower and birding excursions. They allow visitors to have memorable experiences without leaving a mark on the environment. Hosts try to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and educate visitors on the local environment in order to preserve it as well as possible.
If you're heading out on your own, make sure you're swimming in regulated areas and not disturbing someone else's territory, like splashing in protected turtle mating grounds. Remember that other people will want to see the same sights in the future, so you don't want to leave any impact or take a freebie – coral reefs have suffered irreversible damage because everyone wants just a little piece. Also make sure to follow local guidelines – your regular sunscreen may seem innocuous, but it can have a devastating effect on wildlife, which is why many swimming areas ask you to use biodegradable sunblock or simply wear a shirt.
Pick up savvy souvenirs
Do you really know 25 people who will cherish a tiny piece of the Berlin Wall taped to a postcard? Many people are trying to curb their overconsumption at home, so don't hamper their efforts by bringing them souvenirs that aren't meaningful to them. They'll either gather dust on a shelf or end up in the garbage anyway. Limit what you buy to special items that you know aren't made with endangered species or wildlife products and support local economies so you know where your money is going. There is no point in buying a souvenir in Mexico with a "Made in China" label on the bottom! (Check out the WWF's Buyer Beware tips.)
Wildlife Trade
Buyer Beware
Don't Bring Home a Suitcase Full of Trouble!
WWF's Buyer Beware PSA
Whether you go around the corner or around the globe, you could stumble upon products made from endangered or threatened wildlife. Sometimes you may not even know that what you buy contains anytshing questionable. So, it's up to you to read labels, ask questions, request documentation. Use the power of the consumer to protect wildlife.
Learn more how you can do your holiday shopping with the environment in mind by avoiding certain items and carefully sourcing your presents, and the species under threat from wildlife trade
To help in your purchasing decisions while abroad, TRAFFIC worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a series of Buyer Beware brochures. You can download your own copies of the brochures, each of which include a clip-and-save list of products to avoid that you can take with you on your trips.
You can also visit WWF's virtual tourist shop and pharmacy. Browse around and click on the various items for sale. Finding them in any circumstance should arouse your suspicion.
Be a Souvenir Sleuth
Be a Pharmaceutical Flatfoot
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