Carbon caution and advice - flying & the responsible traveller

1. Flying = one of the fastest growing sources of CO2

Responsible tourism overseas helps sustain livelihoods, support local communities and conserve the world's natural and cultural heritage. In many developing countries responsible tourism is a powerful tool in poverty reduction. We are passionate advocates of all these benefits of responsible overseas tourism and yet we must acknowledge that flying contributes to global warming. In fact, global warming poses a severe threat to those things that responsible travellers hold most dear - local communities and environments around the world.

Did you know? One long-haul return flight can produce more carbon dioxide per passenger than the average UK motorist in one year. (1)

2. Say 'NO' to carbon offsetting and 'YES' to carbon reduction.
In 2002 we were the first travel agent to offer carbon offsetting, in 2009 we believe we are one of the first to stop offering offsets to customers. Read more here

Why? We believe that offsetting distracts from the real issues - that is we all need to be reducing our carbon emissions as much as possible. Offsetting flights has too often been seen as an opportunity to go on flying the same amount or more.


3. Fly LESS Read our top 5 tips here	4. Make LIFESTYLE changes Read Friends of the Earth's tips on reducing carbon at home here

5. When we do fly, MAKE IT COUNT
Choose a responsible holiday that makes a real difference in the destination - those that seek to reduce CO2 impacts, support local community programs and community development.

government's role

We believe the Government has a key role to play. Read our views here and the responses we had when we wrote to key ministers about the issues.