Taking off Travel blog

When I first started traveling, we gave very little thought to the effect of travel on the places we visited. That has changed. Along with eco-friendly travel, people are talking about sustainable travel and responsible travel. But what exactly is it, and does it mean we can’t have fun any more? Not at all.

What Is Responsible Travel?

A simple way of looking at responsible travel is that we should be aware of the impact of our travel choices. The ResponsibleTravel.org site describes it this way:

With the opportunity to travel, however, comes a new responsibility to all travelers to ensure that their activities do not upset or destroy the very cultures and environments we choose to visit.

Lonely Planet has a great article on the topic which says it is ‘assessing our impact on the environment and local cultures and economies - and acting to make that impact as positive as possible.’ Read more »

These days the rising cost of oil, steady erosion of natural resources and climate change are on everyone’s mind. The travel industry has taken notice. In response to growing flocks of truly eco-sensitive tourists, hotels, airplane manufacturers like Boeing, Mexican destination-villagers, and even the United States Government are getting into the show.

Make no mistake. These days “green” equates to cash-on-table for the travel industry, while at the same time tourism-operators do right by savvy customers. It’s pretty dang chic’ to treat Mother Earth with respect whilst out and about frolicking in the surf. Read more »