Eco-travel on the rise

Our environment suffers ecological impacts every day, impacts we unknowingly commit and others we don't believe to be harmful. So, how can we make a difference?

Part of the answer lies in the immense amount of travelling we do each day, primarily long-distance travelling that is more harmful to our environment than we can imagine.

"Travelling but trying your hardest not to affect the environment that you're travelling in. Basically, it's staying at a resort that tries as much as it can to keep things as natural as possible, to keep the nature around the resort as natural as possible and not affecting it," says Kelli LaRussa, a travel agent at Goliger's Travel Plus in Waterloo, Ont.

When it comes to travel, there are hundreds of eco-hotels worldwide. These provide an unexplored option for many jet setters. The means of travel is the next problem. Celebrities who charter their own jets are catering to the detrimental effects that our Earth is currently undergoing. Environmental ethics come into play and they are put on the backburner for personal comfort, which in turn harms the entire world.

As far as popularity is concerned, LaRussa says eco-travel is on the rise, with far more media and societal concentration on monitoring our carbon emissions and our ecological footprint.

"Demand for eco-tourism is going to go up drastically," says LaRussa. "There are already three resorts in the Caribbean that are eco- friendly."

It is a trend within travel companies to promote and raise awareness about eco-tourism because of the trend our society has to "go green." As a society, we are using the resources available to us at a minimal rate in order to prolong the world around us. As a way of benefiting our society, and treating ourselves to safer travel, eco-travel is turning out to be a great substitution for the otherwise typical gas-guzzling, pollution-dispensing ways of travel.

Mara Silvestri
Junior Journalist

Junior Journalist Mara Silvestri is a first year English and Communications major from Wilfred Laurier University.

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