Our green and pleasant land

While environmental issues are impacting most areas of modern life, when it comes to the annual British vacation, ‘climate change’ for many people still means swapping drizzly British days for a sunny foreign beach. But with the cost of oil and flying rising rapidly in every sense, is the buy local principle finally about to extend to travel?

The era of cheap flights has made it possible for more people to take more overseas trips, to the point where as a nation we spend more on holidays overseas than we do on holidays in the UK.

Only the 9/11 attacks brought a temporary pause in the steady rise in the number of overseas holidays. This was despite a decade of concern over the potentially profligate use of jet fuel, which also happens to contribute substantially to carbon emissions.

A report from the Office of National Statistics at the start of May noted that while the UK had made significant advances in recycling, increased car usage and travel were wiping out environmental progress. It seems that when it comes to travel, most people have been reluctant to act for the sake of the environment.

Air passenger numbers have increased by 54 million over the past five years, with British airports handling 235 million passengers every year, a number expected to double by 2030. Growth has been most rapid in the regions, with airports such as Liverpool, Bristol and Southampton more than doubling in passenger numbers since 2001.

No-fly zone

There are some environmental options, of course, but not flying is by some margin the greenest choice. However, holidays, particularly for the better-off segments of British society, have become a higher priority than ever. Research by consumer analysis service nVision in 2006 claimed that nearly two-thirds of consumers believed a holiday was 'absolutely necessary' to live properly, a 50 per cent increase since 1993.

A recent Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report on the public's view of sustainable tourism concluded that for most of us, our holiday is a sacred cow, the one modern pleasure not to be messed with - including cheap flights.

It notes: "People reward themselves through leisure and tourism and do not want to feel constrained in their enjoyment through making sacrifice for the sake of the environment. They would consider the environment if it made no difference to the rest of their experience."

As with sustainability activities by companies, it is usually only when commercial priorities match environmental necessities that change takes place. The price of oil may be that catalyst. Over the past two decades low-cost flights and overseas accommodation have meant that a UK holiday was often the expensive option.

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