ACTIVITIES

Luckily, we're not really into golf, or water sports, quad-biking and the like either, so this wasn't too much of an issue. We did a lot of walking and cycling, low impact activities that allowed us to visit the countries we were in slowly. We have witnessed the impact of various tourist 'activities' on our travels however, and thought we'd better say something about this while we're at it...

Basically, if you want to reduce your impact while travelling, avoid doing activities that damage the environment or the people who live in it. Obviously, everyone wants to enjoy their holiday - local people will be around a bit longer and it would be nice if they could enjoy their place too though!

For example, consider the impact of a golf course - Who and what was on the land occupied by the golf course before it was landscaped and manicured into the rolling greens you see now? Where does all the water come from that's used to water the lawns? How many people have lost land and water as a result? How much energy is used to divert resources into the golf course, get people there and provide for them during their stay?

It's a simple example, one that shows the basic questions you can ask yourself as you visit a country - avoid polluting activities, avoid complexes and installations build specifically for tourists as they'll usually be using much more water, energy and other resources and try to be aware of the impact tourism itself has on places and people.

Here are a few interesting websites to have a look at:

The Tribes Foundation
Tourism Concern