Eco-friendly holidays: 5 tips for a sustainable summer

Going on holiday often seems like a privilege for the few, a luxury that not everyone can afford. Taking a break from everyday life, work, and daily stress, however, is a real necessity for all our physical and mental well-being. If going on holiday is good for us, it is important to make sure that it does not harm the environment or damage the already very delicate balance of our world. 

This is how eco-friendly holidays are born, a way to make tourism sustainable and not damage the environment with our leisure time and well-deserved rest. For this reason, we have compiled a list of tips to help you plan your holiday, so that you can spend a sustainable summer that is also beautiful and relaxing. 

1. What is sustainable tourism
2. 1. Travel by train and use public transport
3. 2. Choose options that prevent food waste
4. 3. Respect local communities and use their services
5. 4. Give up single-use items
6. 5. Spend time in nature to learn to respect it

What is sustainable tourism

As we often say, sustainability is not a concept limited to the well-being of ecosystems, but also includes the economic and social well-being of the communities involved. Therefore, sustainable tourism must be sustainable not only in terms of the environment, which must not be polluted by our travels, but also in relation to the people who live in our holiday destinations. The goal of an eco-friendly holiday is to cause the smallest possible impact on the place we visit. 

Sustainable tourism was clearly defined by the World Tourism Organization, an intergovernmental organization responsible for managing tourism policies. The WTO maintains that tourism should meet the needs of tourists while, at the same time, protecting three elements: nature, the community, and local cultures. Therefore, an eco-friendly and sustainable holiday must first and foremost minimize the impact on the environment and, in addition, somehow offer an opportunity to local communities, who must not be harmed by our visit but, on the contrary, must benefit from it. 

Discover our tips for traveling sustainably.

1.Travel by train and use public transport

The most polluting element of any trip is transportation. According to the EEA's latest "Transport and Environment" report, traveling by train is the most eco-friendly form of motorized transport. It is the method that emits the fewest greenhouse gases, making it significantly less polluting than traveling by car, ship, or plane. In recent years, transport has accounted for approximately 25% of emissions in the European Union. In addition to exhaust fumes, particulate matter from the abrasion of brakes, wheels, tires, and rails must also be considered as part of transport pollution. The report's analysis concludes that the train is the best way to travel and that air travel has different impacts depending on the passenger-to-distance ratio, and that over longer distances, the environmental costs are lower, provided you travel on direct flights. In fact, the most damaging choice remains a diesel or gasoline car, especially if you are traveling alone. 

In short, summing up the report, traveling by train, when distances are not excessive, is the most eco-friendly choice. For very long distances, however, flying is acceptable. 

Furthermore, if you are visiting a city, it is always better to prefer getting around by public transport and avoid taxis and other forms of individual transport as much as possible. In addition, if the location allows it, choosing to get around by bicycle is the most eco-friendly choice possible.

2. Choose options that prevent food waste

The choice of the place where we decide to stay and the options available can make a difference. First of all, special attention should be paid to dining options. On the one hand, sustainable cuisine, as plant-based and local as possible, should always be preferred. On the other hand, we must pay close attention to waste: staying at restaurants or hotels with frequent buffet packages means participating in enormous food consumption. Having a huge variety and abundance of dishes available seems like a luxury we enjoy indulging in on holiday, but it entails an inevitable waste of food and resources that terribly damages the environment. 

Another factor that can help us choose accommodation and restaurants is company policy and the commitment to limiting the environmental impact of their work. Companies that offset their carbon footprint and try to pollute as little as possible allow us to have eco-friendly holidays.

3. Respect local communities and use their services

Tourism can be a wealth for the area that hosts many visitors, but only if it is respectful tourism, that does not cannibalize their culture, their economy, and their very lives. Ensuring that the place you visit and the accommodation you choose respect local cultures is essential. Furthermore, so that your visit enriches those who live in the places we visit, it is also important to use local services. This can be done by preferring a small bed and breakfast instead of a large chain hotel, or by purchasing souvenirs and other goods from local artisans. There is always a way to make your holiday sustainable. 

4. Give up single-use items

It is not easy, nor is it particularly convenient. On holiday we do not want to think about washing dishes, but choosing to use single-use items, even if only for a few days, does not help the environment at all. Even giving up plastic and using only biodegradable tableware is not enough, because wasting so much material, instead of using reusable items, inevitably pollutes. 

A good idea is to eat cold foods and one-pot dishes, so as to dirty as few dishes as possible, avoid cooking, and dirty no more than one plate per person. Bringing many reusable items with you may seem inconvenient and undesirable on holiday. But it is a small sacrifice that will not ruin your holiday and will, on the contrary, definitely help the environment.

5. Spend time in nature to learn to respect it

Immersed as we are in our hectic lives, surrounded by technology and convenience, we often take nature for granted, to the point of forgetting to take care of it. A holiday can be a good opportunity to reconnect with the environment, to learn to respect it and not pollute it. Furthermore, whatever the destination, a trip organized to cultivate a relationship with nature can be an excellent idea for those traveling with children, especially if they have few opportunities in their daily lives to experience the beauty of contact with animals, woods, plants, lakes, and mountains. 

A holiday is a well-deserved break, it serves to disconnect from everything else, but there is no reason it cannot also, in some way, be educational. What it definitely must not do, however, is damage the environment and those who live in it, because our well-being cannot exist at such a high price.