Travel for good: Tips for a sustainable UK staycation in preparation for COP26

As the world prepares to unite to tackle climate change later this week, small group tour operator Rabbie’s, is highlighting how Brits can holiday sustainably at home and identify the greenwashing from the eco-friendly initiatives that have real, positive impact.

The travel industry is seeing an influx of green initiatives aimed at decarbonising holidays both within the UK and abroad. Small-group tour operator Rabbie’s has long seen the need for sustainable travel choices, with the company boasting an impressive track record of reducing and offsetting its emissions since its inception in 1993, and here’s how you can too…

Travel as a group
Travelling on a small-group holiday reduces the number of vehicles needed to get your group to your destination, while not compromising on the ability to navigate to lesser-reached parts of the country. A much more fuel-efficient option and reducing the carbon emissions of your holiday, domestic coach tours are also a great way to explore the country in the company of other eco-minded travellers.

Ensure your offsets have a real, on-the-ground impact
Forget offsetting your flight with a contribution to a project in far-flung reaches of the globe, instead opt to travel with an operator that has real, positive impact right here in the UK. There are many tree-planting and carbon capture initiatives on UK soil that can benefit more directly from travel companies offsetting projects. Rabbie’s as a business taxes itself £10 for every tonne of carbon its tours produce, and by doing so, has raised more than £120,000 for community and environmental projects since 2008. Funds are shared among local projects in the areas Rabbie’s visits, including The Staffin Trust, National Trust for Scotland’s Ben Lawers tree-planting project and Moor Trees.

Explore off-the-beaten-track
Steering clear of tourist hot-spots and visiting smaller communities that are typically out of reach to larger tour groups is a great way to ensure your tourism spend is placed into the hands of those that need it most. The tourist pound is so much more valuable to these small communities that have been significantly impacted as a result of the pandemic, allowing conscious travellers the opportunity to really make a difference to local lives.