Luxury Southern African Travel

It seems apparent that some tourism and travel companies have no concern for sustainable and eco-tourism. This article stems from a visit to Pretoria and Johannesburg to obtain a Nigerian TWP visa. The two days there were quite manic being in two cities I’m not quite familiar with and under a lot of pressure to meet deadlines.

By the end of the first day I went to find accommodation for the night. I found a provider I thought was better than they actually are or otherwise I simply found one of their bad hotels. This is not the big issue though. After settling in and as the day grew late, I needed some light. I switched on the light switch and was temporarly blinded by vast amounts of light. After regaining my sight I discovered that each room had one or two sets of triple lights, all with the old styled tungsten bulds or “electrical gas guzzlers”. For a moment I felt like a soccer player in the 2010 SWC or like the night the Cape Town Soccer Stadium did their lights test.

Diya Travel Consultants started a Green Portfolio which is a collection of eco-friendly and sustainable tourism providers. As I am a part of the Green Portfolio and trying to save power by conforming to eco-friendly and sustainable tourism standards, this ill practice I find most disturbing. I feel that grading councils should get involved in eco and sustainable travel and tourism penalising establishments for not at least doing the basics such as using power efficient light bulbs.

For those establishment not in the know as yet, you can increase your profit margin by installing power saving lights. These lights also last much longer again resulting in a power saving. Eitherway this is looked at, it all adds up to money and the enviroment being saved. Keep in mind that Eskom wants to hike the rates quite seriously and your guests are going to have to foot the bill. At the same time your staff need higher salaries too.

For those wishing to make change to your travel and tourism experience, take a look at these websites, http://www.operationcarbon.org/, http://www.thegreenguide.com/ and http://branded-green.com/.

If anyone wishes to know anything more about Diya Travel’s Green Portfolio or would like to contribute in anyway, please contact us by clicking on contact us.

Image complements of http://www.thegreenguide.com/

Tags: Green Collection by Grant
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If unchecked, tourism can have a very negative impact on the environment through unlimited use of limited resources such as water & energy, waste, destruction of the landscape and society (tourism without regard to local people and their culture).

Ecotourism dates back to the early 80’s, when the first ideas of ‘doing no harm’ to nature were developed.  Today we are encouraging local people to participate in the tourism economy. This means buying local, employing locals, supporting community projects, sustainable use of natural resources and respecting local traditions.

Ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth, and learning new ways to live on the planet. It typically involves travel to destinations where flora and faura and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Ecotourism promotes recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation and the creation of economic opportunities for the local communities. 

What exactly is Sustainable Tourism?  The World Tourism Organisation says it best… “It is envisaged as leading to the management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems.”

Fair Trade in Tourism is all about ensuring that the people whose land, natural resources, labour, knowledge and culture are used for tourism activities, actually benefit from tourism.  In our September newsletter we will further explore the concept of Fair Trade in Tourism and its main players in South Africa.    Until then, fix those leaking taps and change to energy saving light bulbs!

The Diya Travel Team

Tags: Green Collection by Astrid Stark
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