AWF Announces Extended Virtual Safaris
African Wildlife Foundation hosted its first ever virtual safari to Tanzania in October, which focused not only on giving participants a real taste of the safari experience, but offered an…
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African Wildlife Foundation hosted its first ever virtual safari to Tanzania in October, which focused not only on giving participants a real taste of the safari experience, but offered an…
A solar-powered, zero emission riverboat will set sail through historic waters in Derby in 2021, offering visitors a new perspective during a year of triple celebrations…
For many years Costa Rica has rightly been regarded by many as leading the way in sustainable tourism. In an exclusive interview with Travel Begins at 40, and as part…
South West Tenerife has become Europe’s first Whale Heritage Site, a global certification developed by the World Cetacean Alliance and supported by World Animal…
As meaningful travellers become more mindful in their travel habits, the heightened recognition of climate damage and the impact that too much travel was having on our planet…
As Boeing announces its plans to produce planes that can fly on 100% biofuels by 2030, Ciaran Wark explains why Sustainable Aviation Fuel is beginning to take off. Sustainable aviation…
Two global initiatives, the Future of Tourism Coalition and Tourism Declares, have come together to develop a “blueprint” for climate action in destinations…
In order to ensure they were providing the very best quality produce available for their guests, Shinta Mani Hotels created their first experimental sustainable organic model farm…
Aleksandra Maksimović, Managing Director of Communications, National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro, explains how responsible and sustainable tourism are key to the country’s development plans. In Montenegro we are extremely committed…
After a challenging year, a&o Hostels continues to grow following three new openings this year and forthcoming plans to open properties in Lisbon, Istanbul, Rome and Reykjavik…
The start of 2021 might not have been as positive as we all expected. However, the Australian state of Victoria keeps working non-stop behind the scenes to be able to…
The World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage (WTACH) is joining forces with new member Charitable Travel to make it easy for travel consumers to donate…
Emiliano García, Councillor of Tourism for the Valencia City Council, shares his thoughts on why sustainability is so important for the Tourism of Tomorrow, and the actions the Spanish city…
Travel Begins at 40 Founder, Mark Bibby Jackson, argues that the travel and tourism sector should move towards a clean and green future as it recovers from a calamitous 2020…
Community-based tourism is in the DNA of The Tuk Tuk Club, explained founder Bruce Haxton after scooping second prize in December’s Responsible Thailand Awards…
Khiri Travel is on its way to becoming fully carbon neutral. As part of its approach to take responsibility for its impact on the environment, Khiri Travel has partnered with…
Green travel can mean much more than simply carbon offsetting the emissions from your flight. In many ways travel can be good for the environment with many countries and tourist…
Ampaire is the first to complete a demonstration flight of a hybrid-electric aircraft along an actual airline route. The company flew its Electric EEL aircraft on 22 November on a…
One of Vietnam’s greenest resorts, Laguna Lang Co, is urging sustainability projects around the nation to take advantage of a new eco grant scheme it has helped to develop. With…
Leading luxury hotel group, The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts today announces the signing of The Pavilions Anana Krabi (formerly Anana Krabi Ecological Resort), an eco-…
The recently launched England’s Coast website has committed itself to helping create a healthier coastal and marine environment, with a number of coastal business dedicated to sustainable …
Mark Bibby Jackson returns to the East of England for a UK Staycation, visiting the seaside resort of Aldeburgh Suffolk and nearby Orford for a local experience. It seems somehow…
Guided by an inherent passion to transform travel as a force for good, the Preferred Hotel Group has announced the launch of Beyond Green. This innovative…
Emilia Romagna’s Roads of Dante (“Vie di Dante”) has been recognised in the latest edition of Lonely Planet’s annual Best in Travel guide as a ‘sustainability winner.’ The ancient path…
When we established this website part of the ethos was to provide a trusted source of information on responsible travel and ethical travel for the over 40 traveller.
For us, ethical travel covers a wide ambit from sustainable and responsible travel to ecotourism, but basically it means forming a partnership with local communities in a two-way process, rather than exploiting them.
One such measure is to refrain from using plastic bottles while travelling or at least to minimise your use of single use plastic. I still reuse the same plastic bottle I purchased down a supermarket somewhere many months down the line.
A great example of how responsible tourism can work well is community-based tourism. This should mean that not only does the local community share the sustainable benefits of tourism but that it has control of the direction that the tourism takes as well.
Responsible travel and sustainable tourism are often seen as being pretty synonymous. Read more about sustainable tourism. We also have a series of articles in our #sustainablesunday series.
Unfortunately, there is a danger of ethical considerations becoming part of a meaningless PR-driven CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) exercise. However, our intention is to highlight those tourism companies that are really trying to make a difference. Working together we can make a difference too. And if you’d like to carbon offset your trip, we’ve written a guide for that too, clarifying the potential pitfalls of carbon offsetting.