Holly Jean is about to board a jet plane bound for Western Australia, and is traveling in style – ecostyle!  In the following series Holly Jean will offer suggestions and ideas as she goes about making small contributions along the way which will play a part in ensuring she travels responsibly. 

Recently, I have been thinking more about the impact my travel plays on the environment, and what I can do to reduce my carbon footprint, and keep my hottest spots beautiful.  Im no environmentalist and I certainly don’t claim to know all the facts about carbon emissions and all that jazz, but I do believe our world is our responsibility and needs to be looked after.

To me, travel represents romanticism and freedom, conjuring up classic notions of the Oriental Express, Louis Vuitton luggage, classy restaurants and indulgent shopping sprees in faraway lands.  I can spend hours planning my outfits for a trip, and the right attire for the plane ride, ignoring the murmurs of my husband (“Your not actually going to wear that”), only to replace these with more practical pieces.  Getting herded into cattle class certainly wipes this romantic notion right out of my head as I am forced to sit squished up next to an overly-friendly passenger with no concept of personal space.  However, the excitement of arriving at my destination soon occupies my mind and distracts these feelings of faux injustice. 

At the age of 17, I was infected with the “travel bug” while living in Croatia for a year with my family.  Ok, so it was post war-torn Yugoslavia and we were actually living pretty skint as my parents ran a Drug Rehabilitation Centre.  But…weekend trips to Italy were commonplace and popping over to Germany was similar to a jaunt to the South Island.   Ever since then, the beck and call of faraway lands lures me in to its romantic web.

Traveling to other places, experiencing other worlds and cultures, soaking in the lifestyles of other lands, and escaping the reality of life for a short time is a luxury which has become much more accessible to the masses due to competitive airfares and discounted deals.  It is a chance to escape reality and be free of the shackles and responsibilities of home.

Often when people plan to travel, whether it’s for business or leisure, we can be somewhat self-focussed, completely neglecting how our travel affects the planet.  Due to an increase in tourism, the host population can suffer the consequences of; an increased population (during certain times of year), environmental damage to public man-made spaces as well as valuable natural attractions, carbon emissions released on the long-haul journeys to the host destination, not to mention the severe visual pollution from the hideous outfits many tourists embrace (Bumbags, polos and oversized tees tucked into drill pants and shorts, walking shoes and backpacks are just not acceptable daywear).  Not to mention the tacky gifts and souvenirs they return home with, which ultimately end up in landfills!  Environmental responsibility doesn’t just matter at home.  We need to take this philosophy with us.  The mantra that rings home to me is “Leave only footprints, take only memories”.

Eco-tourism, sustainable tourism, responsible tourism are some of the concepts based around the loose ideas that travelers be aware and take responsibility to reduce the impact of their holiday by making responsible decisions that protect the environment, and host communities while visiting.  Governments and companies alike are becoming more focussed on preventing negative climate change and reducing the debris of tourist residue on the environment.                                                  

Being mindful of our environment when traveling is having a commitment to ensure that the destinations we visit are kept in the condition we found them, so ourselves and our future generations can enjoy them as we have.

My parents are among the generation that lived a life of environmental ignorance, unless you want to call composting a few food scraps and making puppets out of used toilet rolls ‘sustainable’.  If this commitment to eco-travel sounds a little OTT and too serious for you, incorporating just one or two eco-elements to your decision-making is a step to ensuring your favorite holiday destinations are treated respectfully.    But planning a trip more mindfully, having a focus on reducing the impact of your holiday, can play a significant role in protecting our most treasured places.   It could be as simple as paying for carbon credits when flying long haul.  According to www.conversation.org a short flight from Auckland to Wellington incurs a 0.4 (tons of CO2) carbon footprint, while a flight from Sydney to New York incurs a carbon footprint of 6.2.  Offsetting this could cost $5 to $74 respectively.  Paying for carbon credits could involve more trees being planted to compensate for these CO2 emissions.

Over the following weeks, I will be jet-setting across the Tasman, as my husband and I embark on one of our little adventures. This time, were hitting the unglamorous Queensland and Western Australia.  Along the way, we will attempt to make environmentally-conscious choices and we hope we inspire you to do the same the next time you have a planned escape away. Traveling in style is cool.  But traveling in eco-style is ultra-cool.