Sustainable and eco-friendly family holidays & reducing our footprints on our planet
Posted by Sachelle, 27th February 2020 at 09:43
Join us in our mission to help the planet as much as we can while still enjoying quality and much-needed family time.
Just over 10 years ago I had my youngest child and at the time we were a well-travelled family. I started my own business because I wanted to continue to travel and help other new parents have the courage to do so too.
My oldest is now 34, second oldest 29 and third 25. Hubby and I still travel, along with the kids and their partners, and our latest addition, granddaughter Georgia, who is three, but would say, ‘no nana I am nearly four’!
Freddie, my youngest, took his first trip at only 11 weeks old, to France, then travelled as far as New Zealand by the time he was 18 months old.
I have started to seriously question our carbon footprint and what can be done. I really believe that family time is the most important and precious commodity a family could ever want or need. We have regular Sunday lunches and crazy outings and we still holiday together. Research also shows that if we have a trip booked, people feel happier.
All this got me thinking, how can we balance this with helping the planet.
It is fair to say that people are not going to stop travelling, it broadens horizons, gives confidence, builds memories and brings people together. It is also an amazing tool for understanding different cultures and environments. And that, coupled with many economies and people relying on the tourist trade for their own families living, it’s not going away any time soon. So how can we make a difference?
I am not an expert on eco-travel but I am learning, and over the next few months will share my findings with you. With special reference to sustainable tourism for families and what we can do to help.
Tourism is responsible for nearly one tenth of the worlds carbon emissions and the travel industry needs to take steps to reduce impact. Companies are making plans and changes; British Airways is committed to cutting its CO2 by 50% and working on ways to produce fuel from food waste. Here at Holiday Tots we work with lovely owners who are all dedicated to making holidays perfect for families. Most of them have started to look at ways they can reduce carbon footprint, from recycling and using local suppliers, to having their properties working entirely off grid.
You can take a look at our growing collection of eco-family holidays and we will be continuing to help our owners make positive changes so that they can become more eco- friendly for families.
As I said I do not profess to be an expert in sustainable family holidays and eco travel but I am enjoying my learning journey. If you would like to help with any ideas of how we can help reduce our carbon footprint as families when we travel, then please feel free to drop me a line.
Or you can follow our Holiday Tots eco journey on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #HolidayTotsEco – tag us with any findings you might have for your chance to be heard too.
We look forward to sharing some eco news soon
Thanks for reading
Sachelle x
