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Nov 22, 2009 When you see some of the holidays masquerading as ecotourism you'd be forgiven for thinking the term "greenwash" was invented for the tourism industry. Oh, it was. In fact this pejoratively used hybrid was coined in the 1980s by American environmentalist Jay Westervelt, who was incensed by the way hotels put signs up pleading with guests to reuse their towels thus "saving the environment" when they were doing nothing to promote recycling elsewhere and really, he suspected, just wanted to save on laundry bills. Since then things have improved, but there are still lots of trips wearing a bogus "ecotourism" tag. These include swimming with captive dolphins (the feature documentary The Cove on the annual dolphin slaughter in Japan is a reminder of the truth behind their capture and trade) and hunting holidays with "sustainable" quotas. Tanzania has received criticism for the sale of ancestral lands to monopolies for under the market price, leaving local tribes high and dry. But often holidaymakers mistake sustainable ideas such as lower-impact transport with ecotourism. Incidentally research by the Heidelberger Institute for Energy and Environmental Research comparing the pollutant parameters and ecological effects of different holiday transport found coach travel to use six times less energy than planes. But this still doesn't make your coach trip ecotourism. British travellers to the United States are getting a better deal thanks to the renewed strength of the pound against the dollar, a holiday company has said. Hayes & Jarvis said they would get 24 percent more today than at the pound's low point against the dollar in March 2009. In other destinations that use the dollar, like Dubai and Hong Kong, the pound is also worth at least 13 percent more. On Tuesday, one pound was worth USD1.6795 - a significant improvement on the 52-week low of USD1.375. Nov 19, 2009 Sporting events and eco-tourism will have a great effect on our choice of holiday destinations in 2010 according to a new travel trends report. International competitions like the World Cup and Winter Olympics will increase visitor numbers to South Africa and Vancouver, and other tourists will be inspired to visit cities like Stockholm due to its title of European Green Capital for 2010. The research, by British Airways, has outlined the top ten hot destinations for next year, showing we have not lost our taste for adventure despite a tightening of the purse strings. Topping the list of popular destinations is Cape Town, which is expecting around half a million supporters for the world's biggest international football competition. The city and its visitors will see the benefits of greater investment in its plethora of Roman and Byzantine tourist attraction,s which make the cultural center of Turkey so fascinating. Alongside more established destinations, including Las Vegas and New York, and beach hotspots Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and the Maldives, some more unusual destinations have also made it on to the top ten list. Atlantic City Express Service The ACES (Atlantic City Express Service) train connecting New York and Atlantic City is helping South Jersey customers kick off Black Friday with the Shopaholics Train, offering free giveaways and a hotel discount in New York City. Other articles:
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