Earth Day 2020: What Is Ecotourism and How To Be More Eco-Friendly

Just what is ecotourism today? Without nature, one of the four pillars of Glamping Hub’s core values would crumble—which is why we, as a business, both respect and appreciate every aspect of it. This year, as Earth Day 2020 approaches on April 22, we are taking the opportunity to help spread the word about its aims and complex subject of ecotourism.

So, just what is ecotourism in 2020?

As you begin to understand the principles of ecotourism, it is easy to immediately be thrown off by the industry’s technical jargon. Eco-friendly, responsible tourism, conscious travel, and green tourism are just a few of the larger list of terms that are regularly used in an interchangeable way when trying to answer the question: what is ecotourism?

However, we have good news for you! The majority of these definitions unify to support quite a simple ethos: protecting and respecting local culture, adopting environmentally-friendly practices, and economically supporting local communities in a sustainable way.

We particularly like the definition of Ecotourism coined by the director of the International Sustainable Tourism Initiative at Harvard, Epler Wood: “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.” For example, it might be easier to think of conserving the natural wonders of our earth as ecotourism—which it is—but equally so is making sure that the locals are economically benefiting from tourism.

The travel industry has the opportunity to provide education, job/career creation, and development for local communities. However, due to what is referred to as “tourism leakage,” sometimes only a mere 10% of money is going back to the local community. Your contribution as a conscious traveler can be awareness when traveling, choosing to spend your money at local businesses whenever possible.

Earth Day 2020 and how to be more environmentally friendly from now on

This year, Earth Day 2020 is calling each and every one of us to pledge to end plastic pollution, one of the most important environmental problems that we face today and one that we have contributed to greatly—whether knowingly or not. Did you know that 300 million tons of plastic are sold each year and that 90% of that is thrown away? The opportunity to tackle this is huge, and with your input we can really make a difference.

But why should you care about plastic pollution? The issue with plastic is that the amount of plastic we create is essentially here forever. To put it into perspective, one single plastic bottle, though it may decompose, takes close to 500 years to fully do so. Moreover, although it breaks down, it still remains in our soil and water, affecting our crops, ocean life, and ourselves.

When plastic decomposes in the ocean for example, it breaks down into small poisonous particles, microplastics, that are then swallowed by ocean life and, later, humans. As if this wasn’t enough reason for concern, the energy it takes to simply create plastic creates omissions that catalyze climate change. Therefore, if we think about how much plastic we use on a daily basis, pledging to recycle or cut down on usage seems like a small feat to combating climate change and protecting the health of both our sea life and ourselves.

Well how can I be more environmentally conscious and make a difference recycling in 2020?

Thanks to our wonderful and proactive Glamping Hub Green Initiative Team, we have already started to take steps as a business to reduce our waste and recycle. We have developed a system to educate our office on what goes where, making the process of recycling easier for everyone. Currently, we can are recycling plastic, cans, paper, glass, and batteries.

Continuing the green theme and our support of Earth Day on April 22, we pledge to not use plastic bottles, bags, and straws for the whole month of April. We have also organized fundraising initiatives to add to our contribution.

If you’re wondering what you can do to help out starting today, let us be of assistance. Begin by reading some easy-to-implement tips on traveling green. If you are a traveler, you may or may not know that 2017 was the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, and a very useful resource is their “Tips For a Responsible Traveler” guide, from the #travelenjoyrespect campaign.

You can also take and act of Green and discover how to be more environmentally conscious in 2020 with a choice of different actions you can start implementing.

Lastly, you can book your next glamping trip with peace of mind! As mentioned above, Glamping Hub will be donating 10% of revenue made on Earth Day, April 22, to the official Earth Day Network. You can plan your perfect getaway knowing that you are simultaneously making a pledge to protect our earth.

Want to browse some beautiful, eco-friendly accommodations on Glamping Hub? Start exploring today!

We hope that by Glamping Hub pledging to make internal changes, we have made you think about your relationship with our planet. Though we don’t yet consider ourselves to be a fully eco-friendly company, we hope you will join us in our journey to do so,one step at a time!