Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
43
and State Street and connect to the North
Side via Lincoln Park.
Blue-and-white police cars ar e a com-
mon sight, and officers also patr ol b y
bicycle downtown and along the lakefront
and b y horseback at special ev ents and
parades. There are police stations in busy
nightlife ar eas, such as the 18th D
station at Chicago A venue and LaS alle
Street in the hopping r estaurant-and-
entertainment mecca of Riv er North, and
the 24th District station (known as Town
Hall) at Addison and Halsted streets, near
the busy strip of sports bars and nightclubs
in Wrigleyville.
istrict
9
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Sustainable tourism
is conscientious
economies and communities, regardless of
location. You can embrace ethical tourism
by staying at a locally o wned hotel or
shopping at a stor e that emplo ys local
workers and sells locally produced goods.
Responsible T ravel
(www .responsible
travel.com) is a great source of sustainable
travel ideas; the site is r un by a spokesper-
son for ethical tourism in the travel indus-
try.
Sustainable T ravel International
(www.sustainabletravelinternational.org)
promotes ethical tourism practices, and
manages an extensive directory of sustain-
able properties and tour operators ar ound
the world.
In the U.K.,
Tourism Concern
(www.
tourismconcern.org.uk) wor ks to r educe
social and envir onmental pr oblems con-
nected to tourism.
The
Association of
Independent T our Operators (AITO)
(www.aito.co.uk) is a gr oup of specialist
operators leading the field in making holi-
days sustainable.
Volunteer trav el
has become incr eas-
ingly popular among those who want to
venture bey ond the standar d gr oup-tour
experience to learn languages, interact
travel. I t means being car eful with the
environments you explore, and r especting
the communities y ou visit. Two o verlap-
ping components of sustainable trav el are
ecotourism
and
ethical tourism.
The
International Ecotourism Society
(TIES)
defines ecotourism as responsible travel to
natural ar eas that conser ves the envir on-
ment and improves the well-being of local
people. TIES suggests that ecotourists fol-
low these principles:
• Minimize environmental impact.
• Build environmental and cultural aware-
ness and respect.
• Provide positiv e experiences for both
visitors and hosts.
• Provide dir ect financial benefits for
2
conservation and for local people.
• Raise sensitivity to host countries' polit-
ical, environmental, and social climates.
• Support international human rights
and labor agreements.
You can find some eco-friendly trav el
tips and statistics, as w ell as touring com-
panies and associations—listed by destina-
tion under “ Travel Choice”—at the
TIES
website, www.ecotourism.org. Also check
out
Ecotravel.com
, which lets y ou search
for sustainable touring companies in sev-
eral categories (water-based, land-based,
spiritually oriented, and so on).
While much of the focus of eco-tourism
is about r educing impacts on the natural
environment, ethical tourism concentrates
on ways to pr
with locals, and make a positive difference
while on vacation. Volunteer travel usually
doesn't r equire special skills—just a will-
ingness to work hard—and programs vary
in length from a fe w days to a number of
weeks. Some programs provide free hous-
ing and food, but many require volunteers
to pay for trav el expenses, which can add
up quickly.
eserve and enhance local
