Eco-friendly Holiday: How to Mitigate Carbon Footprint?

Eco-friendly Holiday: How to Mitigate Carbon Footprint?

Having holidays is an indispensable need for all of us. Holidays are important to get away from work stress, discover new places, and refresh our soul and body. However, how much do we consider the damage we give to the environment during our holidays? The carbon footprint created while traveling is among the negative impacts we create on the environment. Fortunately, we can protect the environment while having holidays and experience an eco-friendly holiday with more conscious choices.

In this post, we will analyze how we can mitigate our carbon footprint and make our holiday plans in a way that is environmentally conscious.

What Is Carbon Footprint? Holiday and Travel Connection

Carbon footprint expresses the carbon amount we emit into the atmosphere as a result of the activities we do in our daily lives. Every activity, such as cooking meals, heating our homes or transportation means we commute to work, causing carbon emissions. And these emissions increase even more during holidays. Our travels, especially air travels, hotel accommodations, and the energy amount we consume during holidays, increase our carbon footprint.

​Check out our blog post to get further details on Carbon Footprint.

Environmental Cost of Holiday

The environmental impacts of holidays are much bigger than we can imagine. For instance, long distance air travel constitutes a major part of carbon emissions into the atmosphere during holidays. The carbon emissions produced by an individual during air travel can equal the total emissions generated by driving a vehicle for an entire year. Additionally, the waste generated by large hotels, along with their energy and water usage, intensifies the strain on natural resources. Holidays in regions experiencing water scarcity can significantly heighten the strain on the local population as well.

Why Are Eco-friendly Holidays Important?

Eco-friendly holidays not only safeguard our environment, but they also enhance the significance and sustainability of our travel experiences. This holiday approach enhances conservation endeavors while promoting appreciation for diverse cultures. Furthermore, it allows us to make specific decisions before embarking on a holiday to take measures aimed at reducing environmental impacts, carbon emissions, and waste.

This is why sustainable tourism is important. Sustainable tourism, also referred to as green tourism, facilitates the preservation of natural resources while also contributing to the empowerment of local communities.

​Check out our blog post to get further details on sustainable tourism.

Advantages of Sustainable Tourism

• Mitigation of Environmental Impacts: Preferring accommodation options, which consume less energy and less water, can mitigate the pressure on the environment.
• Contribution to Local Economy: We can contribute to the economic sustainability by shopping from local producers and supporting small businesses.
• Conservation of Natural Habitat: Sustainable tourism safeguards wildlife and natural habitats while supporting biodiversity.

Making more environmentally conscious choices during holidays increases environmental awareness both in the short and long run. One way to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle is by integrating the eco-friendly practices we learned during our holidays into our everyday routines.

Tips for Planning an Eco-friendly Holiday

Planning an eco-friendly holiday is not as difficult as one might think. It is possible to enjoy a delightful holiday while also reducing your environmental impact by making informed choices.
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1. Transportation Options

Transportation is one of the biggest factors that increase our carbon footprint during the holidays. Air travel creates much more carbon emissions compared to other transportation means. If possible, you can choose more eco-friendly options such as train or bus instead of air travel. You may consider bicycling or walking for shorter distances.

For example, traveling by train, which is popular in Europe, both mitigates carbon emissions and enables people to enjoy the view during the travel. And train travels in Türkiye, such as the Eastern Express, offer a pleasurable and eco-friendly alternative as well.

2. Accommodation Choices

Your accommodation choices substantially determine your environmental impacts. Eco-friendly hotels and ecologic resorts utilize methods to enable energy and water savings. In this kind of facility, it is possible to see various eco-friendly practices, such as solar panels, storm water collection systems, and recycling programs. And the number of accommodation facilities with sustainable tourism certificates at different levels is increasing in Türkiye as well.

You might consider camping as a simpler alternative. A camping holiday in touch with nature both reduces energy consumption and makes your holiday experience more natural.

3. Food and Shopping

Foods you consume during holiday also have an impact on your carbon footprint. You can contribute to the local economy while reducing carbon emissions by preferring local and organic foods. For example, you can consider preferring fresh vegetables and fruits obtained from local farms instead of imported goods.

How To Reduce Carbon Footprint While Traveling?

You can reduce your carbon footprint during your holidays by adopting small but effective habits.

• Less Plastic Usage: Plastic waste is one of the factors which create the most damage to the environment. You can reduce your plastic consumption by bringing your own water bottle, your cutlery and cloth bags with you during the holiday.

• Less Energy Consumption: Exercise caution regarding energy conservation during your stay at the hotel. Be careful not to leave the air conditioner or heater on, and to turn off the lights. Moreover, choosing the hotels which utilize renewable energy can create a great difference.

• Waste Management: Maintain your recycling habits during your holidays as well. Try to keep waste production at the minimum and correctly separate your wastes not to create damage to the environment.

Eco-friendly Holiday Options in Türkiye

Türkiye offers many different options for an eco-friendly holiday. You can choose among the green destinations, featuring natural beauties as well as sustainable tourism practices.
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• Ecologic Resorts: Ecologic resorts located in regions such as Datça and Ida Mountains offer great options for an eco-friendly holiday. You can find organic foods, recycling practices and sustainable accommodation options in these resorts.

• Trekking and Camping Sites: You trek and camp in regions such as Ida Mountains, Lycia Road and Yedigöller National Park to be in touch with nature.
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• Sustainable Tourism Routes: Slow tourism, which has become increasingly popular in recent years, offers a more tranquil and eco-friendly holiday experience. For example, green destinations, such as Birgi or Küçükköy, draw attention with their natural beauties as well as their local cultures.
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Sentrum Birgi: The Meeting Point of History and Natural Beauties

The Center for Tourism Practices Based on Sustainable Energy (SENTRUM) Project has the purpose of promoting sustainable tourism in Türkiye and supporting the local economic development. Implemented for the first time in Küçükköy, Ayvalık, the model is now applied in the historical Birgi Village of Ödemiş, Izmir.

Hosted several civilizations since ancient times, Birgi is a settlement that attracts attention with its rich cultural and natural heritage. The goal of the SENTRUM Project is to conserve the cultural and natural assets of the region by implementing sustainable tourism standards in Birgi and to make tourism sustainable via energy efficiency and renewable energy applications.

As part of the project, a destination transformation in compliance with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) criteria was achieved in Birgi. As a result of the study on the visitor carrying capacity, visitor planning is being developed to avoid any pressure on the social, environmental and cultural heritage. The climate risk assessment has been initiated, the impacts of climate change on tourism destinations will be determined and compliance measures will be developed.

Furthermore, hiking and cycling routes have been developed, in addition to encouraging environmentally friendly means of transportation and conducting energy surveys in accommodation facilities and public buildings.

The SENTRUM Project is being carried out in collaboration with Enerjisa Enerji, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA). Sabancı University, Sabancı Foundation and HiltonSA Hotels are the supporters of the project, while Ödemiş Municipality and Ödemiş District Governorship contribute to the project as local partners.

The goal of this comprehensive project is to contribute to restructuring Birgi as a sustainable green destination, while also providing a more habitable and environmentally friendly district for both locals and visitors.

For more information on Sentrum Birgi, click here!

Having Eco-friendly Holidays is Now Very Easy

Among the unique history and natural beauty of Birgi, you can both help conserve nature thanks to sustainable tourism facilities and experience an unforgettable holiday experience.

You can consider choosing eco-friendly transportation, accommodation and activities while planning your holiday, thus contributing to creating a more habitable world for future generations. You can both safeguard the environment and have a great experience through eco-friendly holiday options!