Green Tourism

Specialist Reports Special Interest Holidays Green Tourism Solutions? 

One way in which tourism destinations can act green is to level a tourist tax to pay for potential damage to the environment or local infrastructure caused by visitors. The Balearic islands for example are introducing a charge of around 53p per day for an average hotel room, despite yells of protest from some tour operators. The Seychelles on the other had has scrapped proposals to introduce a US$100 gold card offering access to parks and reserves and The Gambia has back-tracked at least partially on its ban on all-inclusive resorts - a particularly damaging form of tourism in less developed countries.

The argument rumbles on with a speaker for the World Wide Fund for Nature commenting ‘Why should tourism be different from any other industry? Other companies have to pay for what they pollute.'

General Tips

• Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints.



• Travel to places you are interested in and take time to explore, learning as much as possible about the country, culture, local rules and values before you go.



• Be satisfied with the comforts that the local economy can provide. If you need all the comfort of home, why travel?



• Learn some language and use it - the return in terms of goodwill is well worth it.