After the lockdown, people just want to travel to see other people, their families or even just to have fun. Indeed, traveling is beautiful because it allows us to create bonds and to discover new places, foods, or cultures. For example, I’m really excited to be able to travel again to meet my family that I haven’t seen for the past two years. However, when I think about tourism I also think about plastic pollution. From the food we can order to the sunscreen we use, it’s all packaged in plastic. Every item in tourism seems to be made to be thrown away. However, green tourism does exist and we can for sure do beterre and find easy options to reduce our footprint.
Say “NO” to single-use plastic
It may seem pretty obvious, but the first thing you should do is refuse single-use plastic. For example, whether it is for your picnic or if you go camping, you should avoid buying plastic items such as straws, plastic bottles, cups, utensils. And instead, you can bring your reusable bottle, your mug, your bamboo utensils,. But, you can also bring your reusable packaging, your mesh bag and the list goes on.
If travelers stop buying single-use plastic items, then businesses will probably stop offering this kind of service and they eventually start focusing on eco-friendly alternatives.
Choose green tourism
The single fact of taking a plane is very polluting. But, you will tell me so are cars and you’re right. Still, you can make up for it by choosing an eco-tourism spot to spend your holiday.
There are plenty of places near you. Who said you need to travel across the globe to have the best holidays? There are plenty of beautiful places just near you that are waiting for you. For example, you can choose to spend your time either in Angers, the greenest city of France or you can choose to spend some time in a farm in les Cévennes to learn about a sustainable lifestyle. This practice is also called woofing.
And, if you choose to travel across Europe, you can either visit Amsterdam with your bike or you can go in the south west of Germany in Freiburg which is considered to be a successful model for sustainable urban development.
Do beterre
Green tourism is also about one’s attitude. Indeed, it’s about adopting a sustainable lifestyle and keeping making efforts even on holiday. So, please keep doing efforts to do beterre. For instance, you can try to find eco-friendly sunglasses or sunscreen before you travel. This way, you won’t have to buy them packaged in plastic once you arrived.
Also, sometimes when you go to another country, for example, the rules might not be the same for the recycling process. We are not always aware of local recycling practices so you can learn about it by asking someone who lives there.
References
https://www.plasticethics.com/home/2020/10/1/what-tourists-need-to-do-to-reduce-plastic-waste
https://www.expedia.fr/explore/10-destinations-pour-un-tourisme-vert-et-eco-responsable-en-france
