There’s no doubt that the travel industry has been hit hard by the downturn in the global economy. Rising costs and fewer travellers have contributed to the demise of a number of airlines and travel agents, and times are predicted to become tougher still.
However, recent reports have indicated that people aren’t giving up on their holidays entirely just yet. Instead, many are choosing to continue to plan an annual holiday but cutting back on short breaks instead. According to a survey carried out by holiday firm Thomson in November 2008, 88% of people questioned stated that they would rather cut back on eating out or making home improvements than forego their annual holiday, and 59% stated that their main annual holiday would be the last thing that they would sacrifice in order to save money.
There’s also evidence to suggest that many of us are choosing to holiday in the UK rather than travelling overseas. Last week, for example, The Times Online reported that UK holiday camp companies Pontin’s and Butlins have seen rapid rises in bookings recently, as families look for cheap and cheerful holiday options.
These changes in consumer behaviour are exactly those that the government recommends that we should be making in order to reduce our carbon footprints and limit the effects of climate change. According to the Directgov website, air travel currently “accounts for 6.3%” of the UK’s CO2 emissions and “forecasts suggest that emissions from flying could make up between 10 and 16 percent of the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2020 if no action is taken to lessen the environmental impact”.
Directgov’s website advises readers to: “…consider your options for reducing your travel, for example, taking fewer, longer breaks if possible, instead of several shorter ones”. It also states that “maybe you can find what you are looking at closer to home, by taking a holiday in the UK or travelling to nearby countries by rail or sea?”.
As travellers and responsible global citizens, it’s our duty to try to reduce carbon emissions and limit the effects of climate change. After all, doing so will help to ensure that there are still places to which we can travel in future! However, as leading charity Oxfam points out, climate change is likely to hit the poorest people in the world hardest. Flooding or droughts destroy crops and leave populations unable to provide for themselves. Some remote and less well-off areas of the world can earn valuable money from tourism which can enable them to cope with the effects of climate change more effectively. So could the recession mean that these areas of the world will suffer as a result of a reduction in the number of tourists?
Getting the balance right is tricky. After all, is taking one long-haul flight worse than driving a car every day for most of your life? Perhaps the ideal solution is to limit the amount of trips that we take, but to ensure that when we do travel, we travel to places that need a boost to their economies and participate in activities that will have a beneficial effect, both financially and ecologically, whilst we are there?
The Directgov website reminds us that when we are on holiday, “making the most of local food and drink, and local activities and attractions will support people in the area you are visiting and reduce the need for further environmental impact from transport”. It also discusses options for holidays where we can make a positive impact, such as helping with wildlife and conservation projects.
However, whilst some people would willingly choose to take this type of holiday, many of us may not find the idea of spending our hard-earned vacation working when we could be relaxing by the pool or sight-seeing, particularly if we are having to cut back on the number of breaks that we can take. Ecotourism is also often considered (whether rightly or wrongly) to be a more expensive option than a cheap package deal, so many of us may be put off by this in the current climate.
So will the recession help us to limit the effects of climate change or will it cause some areas of the world to suffer due to lack of income from tourists? At the moment, it’s difficult to assess.
In future posts, Smart-Traveller will be looking at some of the ecotourism options available to see how we can actively help other parts of the world and consider whether or not there are ecotourism holidays that could entice more mainstream holiday-makers away from their traditional destinations.
Image courtesy of: © Joy Prescott | Dreamstime.com
Tags: climate change, DirectGov, Ecotourism, green holidays, green travel, Oxfam, recession, travel, travel industry
[...] work. However, many of the green holiday options available still involve air travel which, as discussed previously, contributes to carbon emissions and, as a result, to climate [...]