When most people think about ‘going green’ they don’t think much about how it relates to travel. What these people don’t know is that traveling and thinking ‘green’ are closely related. The travel industry has been taking larger and larger steps toward educating the backpacker and traveling community about how to be a better and more environmentally safe traveler.
After all, with people visiting different cultures and environments, travelers are unknowingly contributing to the environments that they visit and should be educated on how to preserve the world wonders that they’ve traveled so far to see.
Travel is going green in amazing and incredible ways. Just recently Continental Airlines launched its first hour-long test flight using an engine that ran off of alternate fuels. Steps such as these are making the travel industry a leader in how the world deals with environmental issues. The industry is also taking steps toward a greener planet. By building new hotels and hostels that are environmentally friendly, backpackers and visitors can rest easy knowing the places that they are staying, contribute in a positive way to the world around them. Locations all around the world are suffering because tourism in the past was handled irresponsibly. Machu Picchu for example is one of South America’s premier travel destinations that has deteriorated as a direct result of tourism. But with education relating to the environment circling the industry, things are improving.
Eco-friendly tours are available to tourists and car rental companies and other areas of the travel industry are promoting the ways in which each of them are doing their part. Tourists can decide to stay in green-hotels and choose vacations that interact minimally with the environment. Everyone is doing their part to travel safely and wisely so that Australia’s beaches, Alaska’s waters and all of our favorite travel locations around the world remain as natural as possible. Travel green and help save the planet!
