Green travel and flying

You can't have a green holiday if you fly there, can you?

We've had to wrestle long and hard with the flight demons. How can we claim to be at the vanguard of green, sustainable travel, and still encourage people to fly round the world in search of a good time? The two don't mix do they?  

Well yes, actually, we think they can. We are big believers in the benefits of true eco tourism. That is why we made this site in the first place. Read our debate about the pros and cons of tourism.

First off, let us make the distinction between short haul flights to Europe, or between US states, and long haul fights to developing world destinations. Given the imperative to cut carbon emissions, such short haul flights are not justifiable, with overland travel alternatives now very competitive.

In choosing travel choices for this site we will make many UK and European destinations available, all reachable overland.  This ensures holidays with a smaller carbon footprint,  though of course there is no such a thing as green travel - only greener travel, lower carbon travel, or if you like, muchbetter travel. However, we believe that carbon is not the only factor in determining how 'green' a holiday is.

In many parts of the world, especially the developing world, tourism is one of the only options a community may have to generate a sustainable income, or the only genuine alternative to far more harmful industrial developments. Deforestation is a classic example, with tourism perhaps one of the only viable alternatives to logging in many parts of the world.

We carefully choose those operations that have a positive impact on local environments and communities, supporting conservation and sustainable development. This is extremely important in any global drive towards a sustainable global future, and we believe travelling and staying with these tour operators and accommodation providers can help to justify your flight.

We are also realistic enough to know that most people are not going to stop flying just because we say so. We feel it is more constructive to find a solution from within this truth, than to try and fight against it and risk alienating the very people we need to engage in these issues. We provide the best available resources to encourage them to think about the impact of their flights, support greener airlines, choose alternatives where possible, and try to make them as easy as possible to plan and book. The hope is that one by one people will choose to travel in less damaging ways, and industry will be incentivised to innovate and improve.

For a more detailed overview of the pros and cons of flying, click here.