I’m starting to plan our vacations this summer, and they may or may not include Costa Rica and a spontaneous trip to Europe for Josh’s graduation! Being a conscious consumer, I’m beginning to discover that planning an eco friendly vacation  isn’t a new concept. It’s actually called sustainable tourism or ecotourism and has been an initiative of the UK’s for over a year now! The three pillars of sustainable tourism are employing environmentally friendly practices (reduce, reuse, recycle); protecting cultural and natural heritage (restoring historic buildings or saving endangered species); and providing tangible social and economic benefits for local communities (ranging from upholding the rights of indigenous peoples to supporting fair wages for employees).

Most of us do our due diligence to offset our travel footprints by turning off the lights when leaving our rooms, participating in hotel programs to reuse linens and towels and recycling on-site. We can actually do much more to lighten our footprint in the planning process of our trips. I’m doing 8 simple things to make our travel plans more eco-friendly this summer, come join me!