A Planet in Peril: Why Sustainable Travel Matters
Sustainable travel isn’t just about ticking a box; it’s about protecting the very places we love to explore. The planet’s warning signs are no longer distant or subtle; they’re unfolding right in front of us. And the evidence is overwhelming.
Our planet’s ecosystems are under siege. Even in our fields, the changes are clear: warming winters mean fewer flowers for bees (as in the UK meadow above) and harder times for wildlife. Further afield, the Arctic and glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates. The past few years have seen the fastest glacier melt on record.
Likewise, our oceans are heating up. Last year was the hottest ever recorded, pushing global temperatures past +1.5 °C compared to pre-industrial levels. This has triggered the biggest coral bleaching event ever observed: a staggering 84% of the world’s coral reefs have experienced extreme heat stress in 2023–2025. (Coral cover has already declined by half since the 1950s.)
These dying coral reefs threaten marine life and coastal communities, just as polar ice loss drives sea‐level rise. The science is clear: climate change is crashing down on Earth’s ice, reefs and forests, sounding urgent alarms for all of us.
Reasons Behind the Crisis: The Role of Tourism
Climate change has many causes, but tourism is among the fastest-growing. Travelling by plane, cruise ship, or long car journeys burns huge amounts of fossil fuels, while hotels and resorts consume vast amounts of energy and water. Together, these impacts make tourism a significant driver of emissions and understanding this footprint is vital to seeing how our travel choices shape the planet’s future.
The Tourism Footprint: A Double-Edged Sword
Places like the Maldives (pictured) are magnets for tourists, but they are also on the frontline of climate change. Every flight, ferry or cruise that brings visitors emits CO₂. Globally, travel and tourism now account for roughly 6–9% of all greenhouse gases.
In practical terms, transport (planes, cars, buses) usually makes up at least 70% of a holiday’s carbon footprint. Before the pandemic, the sector’s emissions were growing fast: by 2019, they had reached about 5.2 gigatons of CO₂-e per year (around 8–9% of total emissions).
Even if it has dipped somewhat with recent slowdowns, tourism’s impact is huge. The way we travel short flights for weekend getaways, long-haul holidays or heavy cruising contributes directly to climate change. We see it in more severe storms, shrinking glaciers and dying forests. In short, the holidays we love are tied to the warming planet.
Can Our Planet Be Saved? The Power of Sustainable Travel
The good news is that sustainable travel and eco-conscious tourism can flip this script. By definition, sustainable travel means “travelling in a way that’s sensitive to the climate and nature emergencies while ensuring that the well-being of the places we visit gains long-term benefit”.
In practice, this means choosing options that cut carbon and help nature. For example, eco-tourism and conservation-focused trips are designed to give back to local communities and protect wildlife. Revenue from visitor fees can directly fund parks and rangers: one project in Mongolia now uses park-entry fees to pay rangers and maintain infrastructure, ensuring people living nearby and native species both benefit.
Similarly, high-value, low-impact tourism, think small, guided treks and cultural homestays, attracts visitors who pay more for unique experiences, without the crowds that can damage fragile places. In the UK and beyond, travellers are already demanding greener options: surveys find 48% of British tourists would choose a hotel with sustainable practices, and many are even willing to pay extra for an eco-friendly stay. Sustainable travel isn’t about misery; it’s about reshaping tourism so that it nourishes the planet instead of depleting it.
How You Can Make a Difference
No one can fix climate change overnight, but every choice counts. Here are some practical steps for eco-conscious travellers:
- Travel by train or bus, not by plane. Long-haul flights are carbon-heavy – one intercontinental flight can emit more CO₂ than an entire year of car travel. Whenever possible, opt for rail or coach. For example, taking the Eurostar from London to Paris or Amsterdam can use up to ten times less carbon than flying. Even local travel matters: a train trip in the UK produces roughly six times less CO₂ than the same journey by plane.
- Stay longer, adapt to slow travel. Spending more time in one place means fewer flights or long drives overall, which cuts emissions. Slow travel also means deeper local experiences; you’ll discover hidden gems rather than rushing through tourist traps.
- Pack light and pack smart. Lighter luggage makes planes and cars more fuel-efficient. Avoid single-use plastics by bringing a refillable water bottle, coffee cup and toiletry containers. Every plastic straw or throwaway bag you skip is one less piece of pollution.
- Choose eco-friendly Stays. Hotels often use a lot of energy and water. (In the UK, the average hotel night creates about 31 kg of CO₂) Look for places with green certifications or practices: solar panels, efficient lighting, recycling programs, locally-grown food, and conservation projects. Even luxury resorts are increasingly proving that “high standards and sustainability can go hand in hand”, so you don’t have to compromise comfort.
- Offset unavoidable flights. If you must fly, use a carbon calculator and buy credits from reputable projects (e.g. reforestation or renewable energy projects). Good offset programs can neutralise your flight’s footprint and even help local communities or wildlife.
- Support local communities and ecosystems. Spend your tourist dollars on local guides, crafts and eateries. Eat local foods and products, and book tours run by local people. This not only reduces the carbon cost of importing goods, but it also makes tourism an engine for community prosperity. Tourism revenues can become a powerful financial incentive to protect forests and wildlife: lands managed by local people often store more carbon and biodiversity when tourism supports them.
Each bullet here is a step you can take. They add up. If every UK traveller switched just one short flight to a train journey or stayed two nights instead of one on holiday, the carbon savings would be massive. And most of these actions, using a refillable bottle, sticking to marked trails, or paying a bit more to stay green, also help the destination itself.
Hope on the Horizon: Collective Action for Sustainable Travel
Tourism is at a crossroads. We’ve seen how global warming, melting ice caps and dying coral reefs threaten the world. But we also see growing momentum for change. Leaders and scientists are calling for rapid cuts in emissions, and travellers are demanding sustainability. As the UN’s Ocean Envoy Peter Thomson puts it: “If we want coral reefs to survive, we must drastically reduce our emissions and keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.”icriforum.org. That means all of us, including every tourist, have a role to play.
The UK has even launched a “Jet Zero” strategy to make aviation net-zero by 2050. While such plans take time, you can make an impact now. By choosing eco-conscious travel habits and supporting responsible tourism businesses, you cast a vote for the world you want. Imagine the difference: healthy forests and oceans, thriving wildlife and communities, and breathtaking places that endure for our kids and grandkids.
Sustainable travel is not just a trend; it’s a necessity. It’s about loving our planet enough to change how we explore it. As a global community, we have the knowledge and tools to travel in harmony with nature. The time to act is now, not out of fear, but out of hope and determination. Every careful choice, every traveller, and every journey can contribute to healing the Earth.