What is responsible tourism?
Responsible travel is travelling in a way that it benefits the country and environment you are visiting. Responsible travel should be sustainable, so that green initiatives are repeated with fluidity. Travelling in a responsible manner, means improving the welfare and livelihoods of local communities. To respect wildlife, ecosystems and cultural diversity. Ultimately, the concept of Responsible tourism is to make a positive impact as you travel. This article suggests ways in which we can all make a change in our travel habits for the better.
How we give back
Green World Holidays gives back to local communities, supports conservation initiatives, donates on behalf of its guests and employs local staff.
All the restaurants & accommodation’s we co-operate with are family owned and run. This is very important, so we see the economic cycle being empowered from grassroot level upwards.
98% of the guides, tour leader’s and drivers that Green World Holidays employ are from the local area our families are visiting. The remaining 2% of our team are travel professionals, that share the same vision, of sustainable tourism.
Authentic experiences
Our families ‘are not just’ supporting the local economy by being there but they are also face to face with the true culture of the destination. And we believe, that is what travel should be about.
Life and travel is about authenticity. It’s not about the fake reality of social media and a perfectly sculptured Instagram page.
#Take10 challenge
Green World Holidays are proud supporters of the #Take10 challenge!
TAKE 10 is an initiative that has been started here in Split and has since gone international. The concept is simple – when you are out for a walk, take 10 pieces of rubbish, or take 10 minutes to clean up an area.
Green World Holidays challenges all of its guests, to pick up at least 10 pieces of litter during their stay. If you see something on the ground, that should be recycled or at least put in a bin – please consider being part of the #Take10 challenge during your stay with us.
We help your carbon foot print
Cars & planes produce CO2, which is a type of greenhouse gas that raises global temperatures. If you want to give back, there are many carbon offsetting projects and charities. Our partners of choice is: www.coolearth.org
Good to know
For every Green World Holidays booking, we donate £25.00 per family to the Cool Earth charity. On Brac Island, we also plant 1 x Olive Tree per family booking.
Being GREEN on Holiday
- Don’t leave lights on in your accommodation.
- Re-use your towels.
- Rent a hybrid car or choose a smaller car.
- Share: books, sun cream, mosquito repellent.
- Turn off A/C when not using it.
- Bio-degradable sun cream.
- Use public transportation.
- Re-cycle your plastic.
- Use a re-usable water bottle.
- Rechargeable batteries are eco-friendlier. We advise to use – Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) rechargeable batteries, as they have a better duration and performance than Nicads. Even better, they don’t contain as many toxic heavy metals. Reduce your carbon footprint even further, by investing in a solar charger to recharge your batteries.
- Be e-smart. Replace postcards with email or WhatsApp and ask for invoices to be emailed instead of printed.
- Act like a local – buy in street markets or shops instead of malls.
It starts at HOME
- Unplug your electrical appliances, when not using them.
- Switch to paperless online billing.
- Install energy efficient windows.
- Turn down the thermostat.
- Lower the washing machine temperature.
- Improve home insulation. Use solar power.
- Never use flushable wipes, they don’t degrade.
- Stop using plastic straws.
- Improve your Recycle habits. We can all do better.
- Talk about Green issues with the family and friends.
- Post Green tips on social media.
- Push our MPs to be more Green.
- Do you need to drive? Can you walk or cycle?
We are proud to say, that since 2016 – all our staff in the Slovenian, Croatia and UK offices, now walk or cycle to work.
Keeping Earth green has never been as important and relevant as it is today. We are all part of the problem and we can all be part of the solutions. No matter how big or small. Only by creating conversation, can we start to change people’s attitudes and habits. We hope that ethical travel will become the norm.
We donate for you
For every family adventure booking, we donate £10.00 per person to the Green Sail charity. This is a fantastic charity that has created various initiatives to protect and promote recycling and sustainable tourism along coastal communities. Click to discover more: www.green-sail.com
Green APPS & Good technology
Most of our family’s joining us in Croatia and Slovenia re-cycle to a moderate to high standard. But many of our families do not know whether they are shopping and investing their money with sustainable companies. Yes, there are buzz words on packaging like – ‘sustainably-sourced ‘or ‘free-trade’ – but is that the real reality, or is it a trick of big business?
There are two APPs, to help uncover what you’re truly supporting when spending at the supermarket.
Launched in 2013, ‘Ethical Barcode APP‘ considers the environmental, ethical and social impact of most products in your kitchen. It provides you with a statistical breakdown of categories ranging from employee welfare to company’s environmental policy. We like the APP, as the information is sourced from 20 different Non-Profits and hundreds more external sources. Find out more here: http://ethicalbarcode.com/
We also recommend the ‘Buycott App’. Simply by using the phone’s camera and the products bar-code, this eco-friendly APP will inform you about the companies that are behind the product. Then within the APP, you can create your own Eco-agenda to help you ‘buy’ or to ‘avoid’.
Seeing big companies all laid out with the dots connecting them back to one another, shows you just how small the corporate business world really is. It’s an eye-opening APP and we encourage our families to further educate themselves, to help improve the planet. Find out more here: https://www.buycott.com