Sustainable travel – is that even possible? Of course, it would be better not to go on vacation at all: because whoever travels leaves an ecological footprint. Forgoing travel altogether, however, is likely to be an alternative for very few. But traveling more consciously is possible. Holiday travel can be better for the environment if we do more than just skip the daily towel change at the hotel.
The instructions in almost every hotel bathroom serve to protect the environment, but they have more the function of a fig leaf: the less frequent washing of towels mainly helps the hotel – to reduce cleaning costs. Many travel offers from small and large tour operators that meet social, cultural, ecological and economic compatibility criteria show that it is also possible to be more sustainable:
You arrive by train, the hotel attaches great importance to avoiding waste, the shower water is heated by solar collectors on the roof, and only organic products from the region are served on the table. This is the ideal-typical composition for a vacation where travelers leave the smallest possible ecological footprint.
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for holidaymakers
“Without tourism, many environmental protection projects, national parks and animal protection initiatives would not exist at all, and biodiversity would be even more endangered than it is now,” said Rainer Stoll from Travel-to-Nature in an interview stern.de. “Sustainable tourism, if practiced consistently, can help preserve species and support social initiatives,” says Stoll.
Incidentally, the topic of sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in supply and demand. According to a representative survey by the market research institute YouGov from September 2019, almost two thirds of all respondents would like to travel in an environmentally friendly way. However, the desire for inexpensive means of transport and a fast connection is currently still overriding the “ecological conscience”.
Also read:
– Ferry instead of plane: The adventure of a bizarre boat trip to Sweden
– The Deutsche Bahn and the false myth of the eco-champion
– Night trains instead of flights: How the corona crisis is accelerating the renaissance of the sleeping car