2020 Travel Eco-Announcements

I’ve already written about my successes and failures with trying to be more green, eco and sustainable during my travels. Look, I know I won’t save the world by bringing my reusable cup, but the more people do it the sooner it becomes the norm. Thank God sustainable tourism is now one of the fastest-growing travel industry trends, and with more and more companies starting to realise that here are some of their 2020 resolutions. Keeping in mind that some things can be considered greenwashing, or just marketing spin, here’s my honest take on what they are promising!

EasyJet have just announced that they are going to offset the carbon emissions for all the fuel used for all their flights. They claim that the cost of flights won’t be impacted by ‘their’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions, but this is marketing after all, so I’m pretty sure the costs will be included some way or another. Though they are the first major airline to do this, a lot of operators have already been offering to offset carbon emissions on behalf of tourists for some time, and in the grand scheme of things, it’s not going to the have impact some people might believe. What will have more impact and is way more meaningful, is their partnership with Airbus to develop hybrid/electric planes – how surreal is the idea of emission-free flying in our lifetime? I don’t know if I’m ready for it. Another thing I can get behind is their aim to reduce single use plastic with discounts for customers who bring their own reusable cup (here’s hoping alcohol’s included!). Considering they wouldn’t take my KeepCup on my last journey, this is VERY WELCOME!

Choosing to take the train is already a win in terms of direct emissions, but when you know that Eurostar is pledging to plant a tree for every journey from January 2020, and will run its first ever plastic-free service from London to Paris at the start of the year, it’s a no brainer. I also like the idea that they’re going to donate blankets from their sleeper ski trains to the Red Cross in France, and to animal sanctuaries in London and Kent in the UK. Teruffic!

On local level, the public transport system in Luxembourg is set to become free for all from March 2020! This great idea is aimed at encouraging car users onto public transport, and through greater investment they’re also improving the quality and level of service, which is great for the people who work there, but it also means it will be more convenient for visitors to consider as a new long weekend destination. On top of this, the free service will hopefully get people exploring the country in the best way for the environment. I know I will.

I’m curious to see what certain destinations, like Amsterdam, Barcelona, Milan, are going to do about the ever-growing threat of ‘over tourism’. Netherlands’ idea has been to ditch Holland as their main advertising focus abroad, with a new angle targetting the whole country. A good example of this is when NL won the Eurovision in 2019, Amsterdam didn’t even put itself forward to host the next event. All this will hopefully open up the promotion of destinations across the country and possibly encourage new eco developments to boot.

So keep your eyes peeled for more travel eco-announcements and let’s hope they’re not all just talking the talk.