Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Public Holidays
England has
eight public holidays:
New Year's Day (Jan 1); Good Friday/Easter
Monday (usually Apr); May Bank Holiday (first Mon in May); Spring Bank Holiday
(last Mon in May, or first in June); August Bank Holiday (last Mon in Aug); Christ-
mas Day (Dec 25); Boxing Day (Dec 26). In 2012, there is an extra holiday on June
5, to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (60 years). If a date such as Christmas Day
falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the public holiday rolls over to Monday.
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RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
It's difficult to talk about the rights and wrongs of tourism if you're flying several
thousand miles to get somewhere. However, there are everyday things you can do to
minimize the impact—and especially the carbon footprint—of your travels. Remove
chargers from cellphones, PSPs, laptops, and anything else that draws from the
mains, once the gadget is fully charged. Turning off all hotel room lights (plus the TV
and air-conditioning) can have a massive effect; it really is time all hotels had room
card central power switches.
If you're shopping, consider buying seasonal fruit and vegetables or local cheeses
from farmers' markets rather than produce sourced by supermarkets from the far side
of the globe. Tap water in Britain is always drinkable, and far preferable to a plastic
bottle of water that has been pumped out of the earth hundreds of miles away and
transported by truck; and although we all need bottled water occasionally when we
travel, it makes sense to reuse the bottle. British supermarkets still offer free grocery
bags, but are encouraging customers to reuse them, or bring their own bags. Use
public transportation to get around cities. And don't rent a car any bigger than you
need (apart from anything else, gas/petrol is so expensive in England these days that
as well as saving fossil fuel, you'll also be saving yourself from bankruptcy).
Green trips also extend to where you eat and stay. Vegetarian foods tend to have a
much smaller impact on the environment because they eschew energy- and resource-
intensive meat production. Most hotels now offer you the choice to use your towels
for more than 1 night before they are re-laundered—laundry makes up around 40%
of an average hotel's energy use. Turning down the air conditioning whenever you go
out obviously also makes a difference. The
Green Tourism Business Scheme
(www.green-business.co.uk) was set up in 1997 and covers the whole of the U.K. It
awards grades to hotels that meet various sustainability criteria—businesses that are
“actively engaged in reducing the negative environmental and social impacts of their
tourism operations.” Gold, silver, and bronze award-winners are expected to manage
energy effectively, promote public transport and green spaces, and support local cul-
tural activities—and are listed on their website. Properties are assessed every 2 years
against strict criteria covering areas such as energy efficiency, waste minimization and
recycling, use of local produce, and support of public transport.
Another source for environmentally sensitive hotels is
It's a Green Green World
(www.itsagreengreenworld.com), which lists green places to stay, including “eco cot-
tages” that are powered by the wind and sun.
Responsible Travel
(www.responsible
travel.com, www.responsiblevacation.com in U.S.) is one among a growing number of
environmentally aware travel agents. They offer a number of “green holidays” across the
U.K., including in London. Newspaper green travel sections like
www.guardian.co.
uk/travel/green
and
www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hubs/greentravel
are good
places to keep up with the issues and get inspiration.
Vision on Sustainable Tourism
