We’re all going on a Summer holiday!

How many out of office replies have you received this past month? How many tumble weeds have you seen rolling through the office? Many people are on holiday this month and whilst for some that means a staycation, for many people it means heading off somewhere else, to escape their day to day.??

Holidays are beneficial in a number of different ways; from helping us to take a step back and reduce stress to giving us the time and space to experience something new. Holidays are an opportunity to spend time with the important people in our lives or even to meet new ones and have fun! All of which can help our mental health but also expand our mindset, increase creativity and help motivate us, even improving work performance.??

Not only are there benefits to individuals but tourism is also big business and very important to local economies, in terms of job creation, improved infrastructure and even cultural and natural heritage preservation. Though alongside the benefits there are also negative impacts, such as the travel emissions involved in getting to the destination, environmental impacts of accommodations and damage to the local natural environment through building of infrastructure and overcrowding, to name a few. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), “in a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario, tourism would generate by 2050 an increase of 154% in energy consumption, 131% in greenhouse gas emissions, 152% in water consumption and 251% in solid waste disposal.”?

So as responsible tourists what can we do to minimise the negative impacts of our own travels? Sustainable tourism is defined by?UNEP?and?UN World Tourism Organization?as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.” The Global Sustainable Tourism Council recommends using certified sustainable tour operators and accommodations. However, there are many ways to be a more sustainable traveller, including carefully considering where to go (some destinations are more sustainable than others), how you travel (plane, train, or automobile?), where you stay (focussing on slow tourism and considering camping or alternatives, for example fairbnb.coop, as better options), what you take, what you eat and what you buy whilst there (tourism leakage is a big problem with only €5 out of every €100 spent remaining in a host community according to UNEP, so buy local).?

Our impact matters, not just at home but when we travel too. This year August is also the month of Earth Overshoot day. On 2 August we, as humanity, reached the depressing milestone of having used up all the resources that Earth could regenerate within this same year. Humanity’s ecological footprint continues to grow and each year this date moves earlier and earlier (in fact we haven’t lived for a whole year within our means since the 1960s). We have much to do to claw back this ecological debt but that doesn’t mean we have to punish ourselves. There is much opportunity here too!?

We should absolutely take time to relax and look after ourselves; to build up our resilience and galvanise ourselves for the efforts we must make to live in balance with nature. We can choose responsibly and enjoy our time away even more for the fact we have done so.??

Author: Claire Williams, Senior Programme Manager, Earthwatch Europe.?

Claire has worked on numerous programmes over her 15 years at Earthwatch, including global corporate engagement programmes and European funded citizen science innovation projects. Claire values the opportunity to bring international teams together to deliver successful, impactful and meaningful opportunities for everyone to more deeply connect with nature.?