written by Irina Nedelcu on May 19, 2010
Great response last Friday from everyone who attended the Summer Travel Fair: people learned about low-impact travel options, calculated their carbon footprint, signed the travel pledge and enjoyed a fun afternoon among travelling friends.
Even if the day started in a rainy mood it didn’t prevent people from coming to George Square Lecture Theatre last Friday and join the Summer Travel Fair.
I got there around 11 and I was impressed with the people’s response. And I don’t mean just experienced low impact travelers (I’ve met people who haven’t flown in years, one of them even took the train to China and back), but people – mainly students – who were quite the frequent fliers and wanted to start making a difference.
There were plenty of resources to chose from: stalls about Scottish youth hostels, Green Tourist accommodation ideas, trip planners, already planned trips, traveling tips to rediscover Scotland and UK. It was amazing to have all these resources at hand, in one hall, with real people willing to share and explain every available option according to specific needs and budget. You just had to take your pick.
After browsing the stalls I attended a workshop held by Jamie Andrews co-founder of LOCO2 and found out about the many alternatives to travelling by plane. All of them seemed to be so much fun and adventurous with high chances of turning the trip into the actual holiday rather than the destination itself.
I spent the rest of the afternoon talking to people who wanted to calculate their carbon footprint. Many of them were surprised (just as I was when I calculated mine) at how much traveling by plane can impact one’s carbon emissions. So upon getting their results they decided to sign the travel pledge and commit to flying less and go for the cheaper and more convenient alternatives.
If you’ve missed the Summer Travel Fair there will be more tips and stories shared by the people present. But there’s still time to sign the Travel Pledge – which is now available online – if you didn’t have a chance to sign it on Friday:
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