St Bridget’s Church Eco-Congregation Green Sheet No. 25

Thinking of booking your holidays?

This week we highlight an innovative company called responsibletravel.com, all information on this sheet comes from their website.

A responsible holiday gets you closer to the real country & supports local people & the environment.

responsibletravel.com does not run holidays. We've carefully chosen holidays run by tour companies and accommodations committed to responsible travel. You can use the site to contact them directly. We started in 2001 with just 4 tour companies, now we have 100's that we are proud to work with.

Typically these are small to medium sized companies and accommodations run by passionate people who've fallen in love with the people and places in which they run their holidays. All tourism is both good and bad for the environment and local people. Responsible travel increases the good and reduces the bad.

Our Charity Commitments

We are determined that our impact on the world comes not just from generating demand for responsible tourism and hence benefiting destinations and local people through our core business, but also through direct donations from our bottom line to related charities.

We believe that the success of the one should feed the commitment of the other, so our policy is to donate £1 for every booking that is made through us to chosen charities. Whilst that may not sound much at first glance, the total we've paid to charities to date is over £8500 (we have paid out to 10 charities so far) with at least another £5000 on the way, which can make a significant difference to any charity.

Getting more out of your holiday

Responsible travel is about bringing you closer to local cultures and environments by involving local people in tourism. It's about doing this in a fair way that helps ensure that they will give you an even warmer welcome.

For example, a local guide from the destination will open your eyes to their cultures and ways of life far better than an expat guide could ever do – they will also earn a much needed income from you.

The responsible traveller prefers smaller groups, and to meet some local people (as well as fellow travellers) rather than be surrounded by 1000's of people from back home. They don't like being herded about in a large crowd like nameless faces and understand that travelling in smaller groups makes local people and cultures more accessible.

The responsible travellers wants to get a little bit more out of their travels, and to give a little bit back to the special places and people that they encounter. They want deeper and more real travel experiences. The responsible traveller values authenticity – experiences integral to local people's traditions, cultures and rituals - rather than those created for tourism, or those whose existing meanings and uses have become lost as they have been packaged up for tourism. No more 'Greek nights' in resorts with the only Greek people there to serve food please! At the same time the responsible traveller understands that some cultural experiences are best kept private, and that their visit would be an intrusion. They believe that travelling with respect earns them respect.

Rediscovering nature

Responsible travel is about re-discovering how to experience nature and to be in it, feeling it, smelling it and learning about it rather than just looking at it.

Through this they replenish their souls. They would rather get out on foot than sit in a big bus, and are determined to leave no physical evidence of their visit but their footprints. The responsible traveller understands local peoples relationship with environments, and that income from tourism can be a powerful incentive for conservation.

The responsible traveller values diversity — diversity of people, cultures and environments. They believe that they can grow as individuals through these experiences, and that their trip can make a positive contribution towards conserving global diversity.

Above all else the responsible traveller wants to cut loose and experience their world. The experienced responsible traveller knows how difficult it can be to do the right thing — and is humble and learns from their mistakes. Whether they travel independently, or through a leading responsible travel operator, the responsible traveller makes and experiences a difference.

Flying and global warming

Most of the things that we do in our lives contribute to carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. Air travel - although currently a relatively small contributor (less than 5%) - is the fastest growing source of CO₂ emissions. We must all take action to reduce our CO₂ emissions across our entire lives, and this includes accepting that we must fly significantly less than we do now. When we do fly on holiday its even more important than our holiday is a responsible one.

In 2006 we began lobbying Government (directly and via the media) to take stronger action to limit the CO₂ emissions created by aviation. We believe that we were the first travel agent in the world to say that we need to fly significantly less than we do now. When we travel by car or plane we cause harmful carbon emissions that contribute to global warming and climate change.

With the current reluctance of governments to act to manage and control these emissions, there are various things you can do yourself to manage and minimise your own emissions;

• Firstly you can reduce the amount you travel each year by having fewer, but longer holidays and cutting down on short breaks.

• Flying directly to your destination, rather than with stop-overs also helps as the worst emissions are during take off and landing.

• You can reduce the damage by visiting local destinations that require shorter journeys, car sharing, and by using public transport or more sustainable transport such as low emission cars, walking or cycling.

There are occasions where we do want (and need) to make longer journeys by aeroplane. We have partnered with Climate Care who can 'neutralise' those emissions by investing in carbon reducing projects.

If you have items to contribute to the green sheets please contact Sally on 0151 625 2659.

The items included in the green sheets are for your information only, but we hope that you find some of them useful.