Most people look forward to a vacation, and who could blame them?
But what many people forget is that the hospitality industry runs 24/7. With a resource base that isn’t getting any bigger, we need to become more aware of our vacation habits, and how we can harmonize them with the world we live in.
Vacations should be a time to relax, and take some down time. But in practical terms, lots of vacation goers simply don’t understand how resource intensive leisure activities can be. Activities like golfing are really hard on the environment, and hotels don’t always put the biosphere before profit.
Angering The Gods
Everyone knows how beautiful Bali is. Just look at the photo above!
The temple in the picture is the traditional home of Hindu gods, and according to the locals, they aren’t happy that President Trump is building a mega resort and golf course near where they have lived for a long time.
President Trump’s planned resort on Bali will be developed by the MNC Group, which is Indonesia largest investment group. Unfortunately, the resort will use loads of water, and also destroy both farmland and tropical forests. There is no shortage of accommodation for guests on Bali, and in addition to the Hindu gods, local environmental groups are getting worried.
The underlying problem is that people just don’t think about the impact that tourism has on the environment, and how much damage that carelessness can do en masse.
We Have Solutions!!
Unlike coal power, there is no reason why tourism has to be negative for the environment. There are degrees of sustainable designs for tourist accommodations, but it all starts with reducing how much people use in hotels. Low flow toilets, LED lights and motion sensors are a great place to start, but there are also lots of design features that can really knock down the amount of water and electricity that are used.
Once the above features are taken into account, there are other ideas to consider. Dropping the occupancy density of the hotel allows features like natural light and composting toilets to be built in, and the real savings start to happen. Of course, these ideas will only be used on scale when tourists stop paying for hotels that don’t put the environment first.
Also, avoid golf courses. Like the plague.
[via truth-out]
