It seems that travellers are fast catching on to the potential impact that holiday and business travel has on the environment and are more and more willing to make a voluntary contribution to offset their carbon footprint.

Recent statistics show that in the first week of its new green scheme, more than a third of First Choice customers agreed to pay an offsetting charge. The number of people agreeing to pay the £1.50 voluntary levy in First Choice shops was 45% , this reduced to 38% when comparing the take up of the charge across all of the First Choice distribution channels such as the Internet. Sunvil Holidays, another company that has introduced it’s own responsible travel policy have reported that in the last five months, 8,000 customers have agreed to pay a small carbon offsetting fee.

As awareness grows to the possible impact that global and domestic travel has on the environment, more and more companies are queing to show their green credentials. One argument is that this is more about effective marketing than saving the planet. Targeting the conscience of a huge and growing number of people who will sway towards companies that appear to be doing something to help the environment could be very good for business.

Customers who fly to Spain with First Choice airways and Thomas Cook airlines during the winter season are being encouraged to recycle the aluminium drinks cans used on the flights.

The scheme that has been organised by The Travel Foundation with the help of Spanish airport authority AENA estimates that around 14 million cans will be recycled in the scheme saving an enormous amount of energy and helping to protect the environment.

Green Travel, carbon footprints, carbon off-setting, and carbon exchange programs, what does it all mean, is it a real attempt by the travel industry to control and reduce carbon emissions for the good of the planet or is it just a marketing ploy to tap into the huge environmentally sensitive consumer markets?

The green lobby have welcomed a ‘green action plan’ that has been proposed by the London mayor Ken Livingstone. The mayor believes that taxing air travel will be the key to tackling the issue of increasing carbon emissions produced by the air travel industry.

Mayor Livingstone feels that London should lead the way in the battle against global warming and that taxation of air travel is the way to do this.