Are you stressed out and badly in need of a break? Maybe it’s time you packed your bags and went off for a vacation. Why not go for a holiday where you not only enjoy yourself but end up giving back a little to the nature that surrounds it? With eco-tourism undergoing a major boom, maybe it’s time you took a green vacation!
What is eco-tourism?
Eco tourism is not about planting trees or visiting organic farms. It is about reducing the bad effects of your travel and stay on the local resources and communities. It is about going easier on the pollution and cultural footprints that you leave behind and also supporting the resources and economies of the local communities that live where you holiday. As you see, being environmentally conscious is not just about buying a water ionizer from bawellwaterionizers.com and drinking alkaline water.
How to determine whether your tour is eco-friendly
If you are travelling through a tour operator, then there are a few questions that you can ask them to determine whether your vacation is going to have a negative or a positive effect on the local environment. These questions include:
- How much do the local people benefit from the money that tourism generates?
- Is the transport systems there being utilised properly for minimised pollution?
- Are the local resources being used in terms of food, materials, etc?
- Does the tourism have any harmful effect on the eco system of the area?
- Are the tourist facilities provided efficient on terms of energy?
If you don’t get the answers to your satisfaction, you can always go online to find out more about the tourism practices in the region that you are going to. There are even special eco-tourism friendly tour guides and operators.
Some top eco-tourism locations
If you are looking for a eco-tourist friendly place to visit, then look no further. Here are a few of the top locations in the world.
1. Vanua Levu Island, Fiji
This is the typical island paradise for tourists. There are resorts there which cater specifically to the eco-tourist population. The accommodation comprises authentic Fijan huts made of hardwood and rattan. You can go for rainforest hikes, visit a Fijan village, tour a mangrove lagoon and so on. You can interact with the locals and find out about the culture too.
2. Glover’s Reef Atoll, Belize
For all sea lovers, this is the place to be at. You can scuba dive, snorkel, bone fish and much more. Here, all the water pumps are solar powered and composting toilets. Wind energy is used here. There are no maids, no air conditioners or flush toilets. Local dishes are cooked by chefs from the community. You can learn about Mayan culture and also the ecology of the Caribbean islands.
3. Antartica
This is for the hardcore adventurists out there. Going on a visit to the remotest and coldest continent, is the experience of a lifetime. If you are up to some extreme living, then this is the place to go. Lindblad Expeditions is known to take small groups there.
Go kayaking by the icebergs, watch the penguins in their state of nature and so on. You can even work with true experts and help them to study different natural aspects of the continent.
There are many more such remote and exciting locations around the world that offer you a chance to be part of their nature without leaving harmful footprints behind. This way, your consciousness doesn’t have to stop at only buying water ionizers from bawellwaterionizers.com.