Eco-Friendly Travel: A How-To Guide
As exciting, engaging and eye-opening as travel can be, it can also prove a burden on the environment. With ever-increasing awareness of carbon footprint, global warming and the responsibility each individual bears in contributing to the preservation of Mother Earth, we’ve put together a few eco-friendly travel tips that are super easy to incorporate into each and every trip you take. Because a little really does go a very long way.
Choose Green Accommodation
This is eco-friendly travel 101: if travellers insist on green measures being implemented, and forgo booking with accommodation options that don’t adhere to best environmental practices, businesses will respond in kind.
Columbia Beach Resort has introduced several sustainable green initiatives that have resulted in a huge reduction in water wastage and energy consumption across the resort, establishing us as a virtually Co2-free resort.
Pack Lightly
We’re all guilty of it: we fill up the suitcase with masses of clothes and shoes imagining that we will need a host of stylish outfits to do our holiday justice, when – in actual fact – most holidays (especially those on a sunny island where sun and sea reign supreme…) only demand a few good swimsuits and cover-ups. In dropping pounds from your luggage, you’ll help the airline drop its carbon emissions as well: winners all-round.
Opt for E-Tickets
Instead of wasting paper by printing off your boarding passes, opt for an e-ticket. With the rise in smartphones, it’s never been easier to travel paper-free.
Be Mindful
Being mindful of your consumption – be it forsaking electricity for natural sunlight, reusing towels and sheets and washing only when necessary, and taking short but sweet showers in place of baths – can go a long way in positively preserving the environment.
Keep it Local
Finally, when choosing a few souvenirs to take home from your trip, whether for yourself or as gifts, try to keep it local. Investing in locally made handicrafts and products not only results in the acquisition of a more genuine keepsake from your holiday, but helps support the local economy as well. Cyprus is home to a host of locally made products that make for fine souvenirs, from Commandaria wine and pastelli (a sweet of carob, sesame seeds and honey) to olive oil soap, traditional pots, and more.