So what does it mean to go green? In a nutshell it means to change daily behaviors so as to preserve the earth for future generations. Ecotourism involves not only cutting back on the use of resources but emphasizes the minimization of impact on the environment, educates the traveler as to the community and culture they are visiting and provides financial support for conservation.

The hospitality industry has been a huge user of resources: industry analysis indicates an average hotel uses 200 gallons of water per room per day. Hotels now ask guests to reuse towels and linens instead of having them changed out each day. Alternative energy sources solar, wind, biomass, geothermal are being used to provide power. Light bulbs are changed out to the fluorescent or LED to minimize the power they consume.

The Orchard hotel in San Francisco, California, USA has taken the next step by providing furnishings that are made from sustainable forest wood and natural fabrics. They also curtail the use of chemical cleaning products so there is no residual chemical smell. To minimize the power consumed, they have a key card system which will only allow the television and lights to be on when there is someone in the room. Each room also has recycling bins to encourage the environmentally conscious travel to do his or her part; and they provide organic bath products for personal use.

Cloudlands in Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia provides produce from local growers for breakfast on a daily basis. They have also furnished the rooms with locally made furniture so as to support the local businesses. Guests are highly encouraged to walk when at the resort, not only to reduce emissions from petroleum products but to enjoy the beauty and splendor that are the Greater Blue Mountains.

The Tiamo Resorts in South Andros Island, Bahamas provide 100% of their power by capturing it from the sun. This also provides the heat for the hot water. Here too the buildings and furnishings are made by local inhabitants from wood harvested from sustainable forests. The resort uses composting toilets and has an onsite water treatment plant to minimize the use of water. Tiamo also encourages the eco-tourist to take home plastic items to recycle since there are no recycling programs in the Bahamas.

So how do you know a hotel is really eco-friendly? Several entities have taken on the responsibility to review a hotel, resort, B&B etc to determine if they truly are environmentally friendly. At a minimum they review the use of water, energy and food items; look to see what recycling programs are available, how the internal air quality is including chemical and fragrance use. Environmentally Friendly Hotels looks at the green features of a hospitality business and provides a rating system. They have dozens of definitions listed that help you determine how environmentally conscious the facility is. The Independent Traveler provides a list of Green Travel Resources to help you select a green place to stay. Green Vacation Hub provides international listings of environmentally friendly locations.

Finding a travel destination that minimized the human impact to the environmental is becoming a much simpler task. Do your part to make sure the natural beauty of our planet is available for future generations.

Learn more about this author, CD Gozzi.
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