A DIFFERENT KIND
It is a truly exciting time to be involved in the travel industry, particularly in the area of Responsible Travel with so many great projects underway or starting-up, one of which is us at Make Travel Fair. We are extremely happy to be in a position to watch this change occurring and be contributing to its growth from an independent perspective. There is a handful of large organizations in the UK like Tourism Concern who have been working towards improving the social, economical and environmental practices of travellers for many years now, and are committed at the moment to improving the policies of tour operators and volunteer programs. There is an academic body at The International Centre for Responsible Tourism based in Leeds,UK. There are websites like Travel Roots and Responsible Travel that offer a substantial amount of ethical holidays, and then there is us at Make Travel Fair who are all about independent travel, about going it alone, booking a plane ticket and opening yourself up to whatever the world has to throw at you; some of the best and richest experiences have been had in this way, any traveller will tell you. Together with another new company called Your Safe Planet we are working to improve the independent travel experience and enhance social and economical awareness, as well as the much publicized environmental aspects.
Climate change is a huge concern at the moment and a reduction in carbon emissions where ever possible is being encouraged left right and centre at the moment, and with all the media and political attention that this and 'green' travel receive it is easy to become too polarized in our minds about what it is we are actually trying to achieve, and the answer is sustainability. It's not all about reducing the amount of CO2 that we a pump into the air it's about being conscious of our footprint; not carbon-footprint but footprint in general. Sustainability is about being self sufficient and not removing anything from the earth without giving thought to how it can be replaced, it's about closing the loop.
Make Travel Fair are an independent body that is bringing together some incredibly passionate people and small businesses that have responsible travel ideals heavily embedded in what they are trying to achieve. It's a young, fresh and innovative industry sector that is thriving, full of twenty-somethings using their imaginations and gap year travel experiences to drive a change capable of reshaping the biggest industry in the world.
Discovering ways in which we can merge Fair trade and Responsible Travel is a thought provoking exercise that can open up doors in all sorts of directions. One small business run by Amy Carter and Neal Allcock is Bespoke Experience in Mozambique, and they are doing great things for ethical travel. You may say that it's not appropriate to be flying all the way to Mozambique for a beach holiday but unfortuantely the choice is not as cut and dry as that. Visitors to Mozambique and the Bespoke Experience project have brought huge benefits to the local communities that they would not have otherwise seen, so maybe flying to mozambique is not just about whether it's bad for the environement but also about whether it's good for the people of Mozambique. Similar questions might be asked about the TribeWanted project on the island of Vorovoro in Fiji who are setting up a sustainable community - a true experiment on whether an online community can come together, become sustainable and what will happen along the road to achieving that. The project may be in Fiji - a good 22 hour flight away from the UK - but for those of us already on our travels or living closer it's a great chance to be part of something truly groundbreaking.
It is true that increasing attention must be given over to projects closer to home but the global picture, the bigger picture must not be forgotten. The free travel guide 'ecoescape' recently launched in the UK and provides an extensive offering of places to stay and things to do in the UK that are eco-friendly.
Make Travel Fair are encouraging travellers to consider the Social and Economical effects of travel as well as the more obvious green side of things.
Climate change is a huge concern at the moment and a reduction in carbon emissions where ever possible is being encouraged left right and centre at the moment, and with all the media and political attention that this and 'green' travel receive it is easy to become too polarized in our minds about what it is we are actually trying to achieve, and the answer is sustainability. It's not all about reducing the amount of CO2 that we a pump into the air it's about being conscious of our footprint; not carbon-footprint but footprint in general. Sustainability is about being self sufficient and not removing anything from the earth without giving thought to how it can be replaced, it's about closing the loop.
Make Travel Fair are an independent body that is bringing together some incredibly passionate people and small businesses that have responsible travel ideals heavily embedded in what they are trying to achieve. It's a young, fresh and innovative industry sector that is thriving, full of twenty-somethings using their imaginations and gap year travel experiences to drive a change capable of reshaping the biggest industry in the world.
Discovering ways in which we can merge Fair trade and Responsible Travel is a thought provoking exercise that can open up doors in all sorts of directions. One small business run by Amy Carter and Neal Allcock is Bespoke Experience in Mozambique, and they are doing great things for ethical travel. You may say that it's not appropriate to be flying all the way to Mozambique for a beach holiday but unfortuantely the choice is not as cut and dry as that. Visitors to Mozambique and the Bespoke Experience project have brought huge benefits to the local communities that they would not have otherwise seen, so maybe flying to mozambique is not just about whether it's bad for the environement but also about whether it's good for the people of Mozambique. Similar questions might be asked about the TribeWanted project on the island of Vorovoro in Fiji who are setting up a sustainable community - a true experiment on whether an online community can come together, become sustainable and what will happen along the road to achieving that. The project may be in Fiji - a good 22 hour flight away from the UK - but for those of us already on our travels or living closer it's a great chance to be part of something truly groundbreaking.
It is true that increasing attention must be given over to projects closer to home but the global picture, the bigger picture must not be forgotten. The free travel guide 'ecoescape' recently launched in the UK and provides an extensive offering of places to stay and things to do in the UK that are eco-friendly.
Make Travel Fair are encouraging travellers to consider the Social and Economical effects of travel as well as the more obvious green side of things.
Labels: bespoke experience, ecoescape, fiji, make travel fair, mozambique, responsible travel, tribewanted, your safe planet, YSP
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