10th January 2022
January 2022
· The Joys of Travel: a message from our CEO
· Happy Veganuary! Vegan travel is booming – with bookings up 300% in the last decade. Plus - we’ve added 1,000 new vegan-friendly trips for 2022.
· Winter Olympics and Fake Snow: ‘The ideal platform to inspire more planet-friendly winter sport and it's sending the wrong message.’ Read our article below.
· Travel Appetizers: NEW for 2022 || Upskilling || Flight-free Europe || Nature Positive
· Where we travelled in 2021: last year’s most popular bookings
The Joys of Travel
We all talked a lot about where we could and couldn’t travel in 2021 - much less about what we love about travel and our industry. At its best I think travel is one of the most life affirming experiences on earth, and one of its most joyful industries – one which provides more jobs globally than any other apart from agriculture. So, this year I resolve to talk more about the joys of travel, and the good it can do – for us, for nature and for community. Here are a few of my thoughts – and here’s wishing you a healthy, happy 2022. Justin Francis, CEO.
Happy Veganuary!
In 2021, we added more than 1,000 vegan-friendly trips to our collection. Over the last decade, demand has quadrupled, with bookings up more than 300 per cent since 2012*. The holidays range from food tours and yoga retreats to activity breaks, trekking and cultural escapes.
And that’s good news for everyone. Meat and dairy result in the conversion of more land for intensive agriculture – land which could otherwise be protected and restored for nature. One way we can all help support biodiversity (and reduce carbon) is by opting for more local-sourced, plant-based food (at home and on holiday).
You can get a taste of our delicious vegan-friendly trips here, vegan food only holidays, vegan travel guide - and some of our favourite vegan-friendly destinations. Bon appétit!
Travel Appetizers
A small selection of our favourite getaways, all with flexible terms...
*New* for 2022: Electric car self-drive holiday, Croatia
From £1150pp, 15 days: Explore beautiful Croatia at your own pace on this flexible, low-carbon two-week adventure, staying in small, family-run guesthouses along your way.
*New* for 2022: USA East Coast by rail
From £1395pp, 10 days (ex flights – ask for quotes): Ride the rails along America’s East Coast to explore Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. This is a tailored, fully-flexible trip with time to explore alone, and with local guides.
Upskilling - learn something new in 2022: Pasta-making in Italy
From £750pp, 4 days: Master making pasta and risotto, tour farms and local producers and feast on amazing food in southern Tuscany.
Check out all our learning holidays – from felting in Scotland to Salsa dancing in Cuba and scuba diving in Egypt – here
Flight-free Europe: Dordogne canoeing holiday, France
From £1799, 9 days (self-guided) – includes breakfasts and some evening meals.
Paddle at your own pace through rose limestone river cliffs, ancient woodland, walnut groves and medieval villages, canoeing from one charming accommodation to the next.
Flight-free Europe: Birdwatching in the Danube Delta, Romania
From £558, 6 days (no single supplement, no deposit needed): Staying in an eco-friendly family-run guesthouse along the Danube Delta, enjoy traditional fresh fish dishes and guided excursions on the Delta – home to more than 330 species of birds, and a variety of mammals including wild boar and belly fox.
Check out more of our flight-free trips here.
Winter escape: Northern Lights and activity short break, Finnish Lapland
From £1007, 4 days (includes meals, accommodation, winter outer clothing and transfers): A small group guided tour in search of Northern Lights, and a lot of frosty fun, from husky sledding and cross country skiing, snowshoeing and a night in an Aurora Bubble.
Nature Positive: 11 of our favourite nature-based trips
From beach breaks to city escapes, all holidays rely on nature and impact on it too. With increasing awareness that we won’t solve the climate crisis without protecting nature, we all need to rethink how our travels impact on habitats and ecosystems worldwide. To inspire you, here are 11 of our favourite nature positive trips, from the shores of the Indian Ocean to Croatia’s Velebit Mountains.
Winter activities, fake snow and Beijing
Asked about the massive use of artificial snow at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, our founder, Justin Francis, told the Guardian: “This is the world’s showcase of winter sport and it’s extraordinary to host it in a place dependent on artificial snow. The Olympics inspires us about sport, but also about doing our bit to sustain the planet. This is the ideal platform and it’s the wrong message.”
We love active, outdoor winter holidays. And we’re not opposed to downhill skiing, which many communities depend upon. What we object to is the unsustainable use of fake snow. So what’s the problem - and what are the alternatives? Read our article here.
Most popular…
Our 5 most popular trip bookings in 2021
1. Luxury fitness holidays, Spain
3. Wilderness Auroras: Finland Northern Lights holiday
4. Croatia family activity holiday, Korcula
5. Hebrides cruise: The Sounds of Mull, Luing, Shuna and Jura
Notes
* Responsible Travel has seen a 307% rise in vegan-only holiday bookings over the last 10 years: comparing 1 Jan – 31 Dec 2012-16 to the same period through 2017-21.
About us
Responsible Travel is an activist holiday company offering over 6,000 trips across more than 190 countries. All our holidays share the aim of creating better places to live in and to visit. We’ve been campaigning for positive change in the tourism industry since 2001.