Eco-Friendly Escapes: Sustainable and Guilt-Free Vacations
Some tips on planning your dream eco-friendly holiday
In recent years, the world has evolved to be more conscious of the impact our activities have on our environment. As individuals become more aware of the impact our actions have on the planet, it becomes increasingly important to find a balance between our desire to travel and explore the world and the need to minimise our carbon footprint. Fortunately, responsible tourism offers a solution that allows us to enjoy new experiences while positively impacting the environment and local communities.
Sustainable tourism, also known as eco-tourism or responsible tourism, is a concept that encourages travellers to minimise their environmental impact and promote the wellbeing of local communities. It goes beyond merely reducing carbon emissions; it encompasses various practices that aim to preserve natural resources, protect wildlife, and support the cultural heritage of the destinations we visit.
As we plan our vacations and seek ways to reduce our environmental impact, responsible tourism emerges as an ideal solution. By choosing an eco-friendly escape rather than your regular hotel getaway, such as those offered by Club Med, we can embark on guilt-free vacations that not only enrich our lives but also contribute to the preservation of our planet and the wellbeing of local communities. So, if you're looking for a vacation that aligns with your values, consider a sustainable getaway at one of our many eco-friendly resorts today!
Choose a location that supports sustainable tourism
Go off the beaten track of city-locked hotels and opt for a location that supports sustainable tourism instead. At Club Med, our resorts blend in as harmoniously as possible in their exceptional locations. However, we’re not just stopping at preserving the beauty of nature in our gorgeous resort destinations, we also intend to help keep them that way by being vigilant of the sustainability practices we have in place such as saving, treating and recycling our water, progressively eradicating single-use plastics, promoting renewable energy sources, controlling the water treatment and recycling techniques, as well as ensuring our resorts are as energy efficient as possible.
In fact, 74% of our resorts worldwide have been “Green Globe Certified” for Sustainable Tourism. This certification is the highest standard of responsible tourism and consists of an annual review of sustainable practices across all aspects of business encompassing everything from training and recruiting staff, to food and energy wastage, resort construction and biodiversity preservation. And when speaking about preservation, we’re also committed to ensuring the preservation of local culture of the surrounding communities.
Look for low impact or nature conservation activities to add to your itinerary
While staying at an environmentally-friendly resort is a good step towards embarking on your sustainable travels, planning out your itinerary may also require some changes to help keep things as eco-friendly as possible. A good tip to have in mind when selecting your holiday activities is to keep your activities as low impact and environmentally friendly as possible. You can opt to engage in activities that include conservation efforts and wildlife protection such as our nature excursions* at Club Med Cherating beach resort. You’ll not only get the chance to get up close and personal with nature with our turtle hatching and watching activities, but you’ll also be able to immerse yourself in the wonders of the natural world with our amazing firefly and mangrove river cruise. We also have conservation activities such as our coral propagation programme at our Club Med Kani island resort.
*At extra cost
Eat responsibly with ethically-sourced local produce
Destinations that emphasise local and organic food options, support local farmers and reduce the carbon footprint associated with long-distance food transportation are the perfect solution to reducing your own food-related carbon footprint. At Club Med, we partner with NGOs that support local farmers in implementing agro-ecological practices, so not only are we able to get our ingredients fresh from the farms, but it also allows us to tailor our menus according to the products in season so you’ll get to enjoy the freshest, most flavourful, seasonal and pesticide-free food. And with cookery lessons such as the ones offered at our Club Med Bintan island resort, you’ll be able to continue eating responsibly once you get back home too!
