GCX’s Green Travel Tips
Every year millions of tourists flit back and forth across the globe discovering new cultures and adventuring in foreign lands. What many people don’t consider is the impact that tourism has on local cultures and ecosystems.
Green travel does not mean strapping on your back pack and trekking to Timbuktu and eating nuts and berries picked off the side of the road, it implies traveling with awareness and making efficient choices that reduce the impact you have on the natural systems that support your experiences.
Before you leave for your vacation:
Hot water geysers use up to 60% of a household’s total energy because they are running 24/7 to keep your water scalding hot. Slash your energy bill at vacation times by turning off your geyser before you leave.
Unsubscribe to your newspaper delivery for the period you are away.
Unplug all your appliances, including your TV, cable converter boxes and everything else except for maybe the fridge/freezer if you still have food in it. Equipment that is not in use but still plugged in pulls energy, sometimes “leaking” up to 40 Watts per hour.
Tips for traveling by car:
It makes sense that burning less fuel, emits less carbon dioxide and saves money. You could save 8% of your fuel consumption on your road trip or in your daily commute, that’s enough to buy your padkos or fill your car for a month, just by following a few of these easy tips:
Tune up, check up, pump up and cut down. Keep your tires pumped up and use less fuel, the more deflated you tires the more resistance is caused by the drag on the car.
You should also check your oil and make sure your air filters are clean every 10 – 15000 km and especially before doing a trip. This ensures that your car is running at its optimum performance.
Plan your Route. It’s always best to plan ahead, so whip out your map book and find the route with the least stop streets and traffic lights. Cruising at steady speed between 2500-3000 rpm is far more fuel efficient then constant stopping and acceleration.
Relax your Revs. Enjoy the ride at a relaxed pace and observe the speed limit and get more km for buck. Jack rabbit driving uses up to 30% more fuel than smooth well paced driving.
Flights
Try and take the most direct route possible between destinations.
Some airlines like Kalula.com (national) and Virgin Atlantic (International) facilitate an offsetting service which allows you to purchase trees on their websites that counteract the carbon emissions caused by your flight.
Remember, by packing efficiently and according to the climate you are visiting, you can reduce the weight you travel with which lessens the fuel used to cart you around the planet.
The amount of waste generated on airlines is massive, millions of perfect plastic cups, utensils and containers are used once only and then go to landfill. Choose airlines like British Airways that have a very strong environmental and recycling programme.
Roof-racks add resistance to your car, and driving around with them on increases your fuel consumption by up to 10%, so remove them once you’ve reached your destination.
At your destination
Enjoy the local cuisine, and support the economy of the culture you are visiting instead of an international chain.
Eat in rather than take out and avoid food in take away containers. Rather relax for ten minutes over a sit down café latte and soak in the activity and buzz on the street while rather than a coffee on the run.
Avoid buying countless plastic bottles of water, buy one glass bottle that you refill with filtered water from your hotel.
Sign up for activities that support local conservation and fund the preservation of the natural habitat in the area, like botanical gardens, heritage sites and national parks.
Make use of the hotel shuttle and share taxis with other travelers who are heading in the same direction. This will save you both money and keeps another car off the roads.
Take a hike! Or a walking/ cycling tour through the city you are visiting. There is no better way to visit a foreign place than taking the scenic route and experiencing the sights smells and sounds otherwise missed in cars buses and trains.
Use digital cameras for all your happy snapping and select only the best ones to print out. Don’t purchase disposable cameras, these are very wasteful.
Buy souvenirs that have been handmade and crafted locally over mass produced trinkets from the East.
Don't buy endangered species products such as tortoise shell, ivory, animal skins, feathers or porcupine quills. These animals may have been killed specifically for tourist trade. Don't purchase star fish or turtle-shell related souvenirs or any creature that may have been put to death for the sake of a gift shop sale. Sea shells are questionable.
Everyone loves shopping and sampling the local fare found in different countries. Keep a folded carry bag with you and ask assistants not to pack your goods into new bags that will land up in the trash the moment you get back to your room.
Hotels
Travel with your own toiletries and leave the hotels amenity bottles and soaps unopened. Each new arrival gets amenities whether the bottles are empty or not. This is very wasteful and is easily avoided.
If you do use the hotels products, take them home with you and continue using them until they are finished.
Let management know that you will not need clean towels and sheets every day. Hotel laundries use incredible amounts of water, energy and detergents to clean their linen.
If you are traveling in a group or with family, pack safety pins with different colour beads attached to identify whose towel is whose.
Try and do a walking, cycling or horse riding trip for at least one day of your trip. This is likely to be your most memorable day as you will be experience you destination intimately and with time to take in the smells and sights and sounds and absorb the beauty in the detail.
Avoid taking pamphlets and brochures you don’t need unless it’s a map of the area, and return all others to the stand. You can keep a notebook to jot down the contact details of the activities you are interested in. Tourists often collect piles of brochures that are thrown away before they are read.
Remember to turn off all your lights, TV and air-conditioning before leaving your hotel room, and pull your curtains closed. This will help to keep the room an ambient temperature and insulate it against very hot or cold weather outside.
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Customer feedback is extremely important to management of all organizations. Let hotel, airline and car rental management know that conserving the environment is important to you and affects the choices you make. Speak directly to management or write a letter thanking them for their environmental programs or ask them why they don’t have one. It is important for you to let them know that you would like to reduce the impact of your travels by lowering your energy and water use and by reducing the amount of solid waste generated by your stay.
If possible, check out electronically, you can view and approve your bill online and save the paperwork.
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