top travel tips

In addition to offsetting your flights, there are several easy steps you can take to lessen the environmental impact of your holiday:

• Recycle your holiday brochures
• Remove packaging from new products, such as toiletry boxes and plastic packaging, as many holiday destinations won’t have the recycling facilities the UK does.
• Avoid wild animal displays, such as dancing bears, and having your photograph taken with monkeys, snakes and exotic birds.  These animals are often taken from the wild when they are very young, mistreated and killed when they become difficult to handle.
• Don’t buy coral or remove it from the sea, and be careful not to touch it when you go swimming or snorkelling.   Coral is very delicate and takes decades to grow.
• Carry a reuseable shopping bag to cut down on the amount of plastic bags needed when shopping.
• Don’t drop litter.  As well as being unsightly, it can cause real environmental and animal welfare problems.   Turtles, for example, can die from eating plastic bags.
• Don’t pick flowers and plants, or collect pebbles and sea shells from the beach.
• Don’t buy products made from endangered animals or plants, such as starfish, ivory, fur, feathers, eggs and turtle shell.
• Use air-conditioning and heating sparingly; ensure it’s off when the room is unoccupied; turn lights off when they’re not needed and never leave the TV on standby.
• Look to save water by only having towels and bedding washed when they need to be, rather than everyday, and taking quick showers instead of baths.