Green travel, also referred to as ecotourism or sustainable travel, involves traveling responsibly with consideration for environmental impact. This involves selecting accommodations and tours which support local economies while remaining environmentally-friendly.
Grassroots green guides offer an invaluable perspective that is often left out of larger guidebook publications. Furthermore, these grassroots green guides serve to empower people by offering practical solutions for their sustainability concerns.
The Green Book
The Green Book was a travel guide published by Victor Hugo Green, a New York City mailman, that provided accommodations, dining venues and gas stations that welcomed Black travelers during segregation era travels. Published annually since 1936 by Green, his publication allowed African American families and travelers to navigate dangerous roads while finding safe havens from open and legal racism in America.
Though the Green Book wasn’t the only travel guide created specifically for African Americans, it remains one of the most essential. While other guides focused on specific cities or regions, Green’s guide provided recommendations for hotels, service stations, restaurants, barber and beauty shops, night clubs, tourist homes and even funeral parlors that would serve black patrons. Early editions listed businesses by state and city; later editions provided national listings.
In the 1950s, the Green Book expanded to over 80 pages and was widely distributed throughout Bermuda, Mexico, and Canada. The 1956 version featured articles addressing schools for African-American students as well as information about veterans receiving financial support to attend college through GI Bill programs.
From its inception, Green’s guide used an upbeat tone without explicitly discussing race. Instead, his aim was to promote tolerance and respect between races while not leading boycotts or encouraging civil rights activism. Following Green’s death in 1960, his widow Alma continued publishing the guide under its original name: The Green Book.
Many publications have led the charge in protecting Green Book sites. Alongside the Smithsonian site, many State Historic Preservation Offices and Historical Societies have collected information on Green Book locations; The Beck Cultural Exchange Center owns their own copy and uses it in travel classes as an educational resource.
The Movement
Ecotourism (or Green Travel) is an approach to exploring the world from an environmentally sustainable viewpoint. The main goal is minimizing carbon emissions through greener transportation methods, staying in eco-friendly accommodations and purchasing local products that benefit communities; all while respecting cultural traditions visited and avoiding activities which exploit wildlife or damage the environment.
Green travel has long been seen as an ethical necessity, particularly given the damage humans have inflicted upon our planet. The movement began with Victor H. Green who published guides for African American travelers during the early 20th century. Through his work as a mail carrier he learned of discrimination against travelers, so wanted to provide guides that would assist them in avoiding difficulties associated with traveling.
Green travel guides first emerged as budget guides that provided affordable itineraries and off-the-radar experiences, such as taking public transit and eating at food stalls instead of hotels. While these ideas remain commonplace today, this movement has expanded into providing suggestions for making trips more eco-friendly by considering both nature and its inhabitants when planning your itinerary.
Minor publishers rarely publish green travel guides, though there are a few specialty books that address the topic. Moon’s City Walks books provide on-foot itineraries for slower, deeper introductions to urban destinations; Cicerone guides are dedicated to hiking and cycling adventures that reduce tour vehicles usage; Lonely Planet recently unveiled Code Green which helps readers evaluate the sustainability of operations ranging from lodges to wildlife treks.
Herost is another organization that connects travelers to hosts who share the same green travel ethos. Their online platform and network showcases hosts, highlights their sustainability efforts, and connects them with like-minded travelers – an invaluable resource for anyone who values our planet as much as its wonders. You can make an even greater contribution by planting trees after each trip to offset your footprint; companies such as Plant a Billion, Greenpop and Trees Water & People make this easy.
Publishers
No matter if it be Green travel guides, travel brochures, eco-tours or eco-hotels, many of the leading travel companies now provide environmentally conscious options to those aiming to reduce their carbon footprint. Many are also actively supporting sustainable tourism initiatives as part of local economic development plans to aid both people and planet.
grassroots green guides are also increasing in number. For example, in November 2007 two mothers who shared a vision of raising children sustainably started blogging under the name “The Green Baby Guide.” Their blog became so successful that in March 2010 they published it as a book which they hope will serve as an indispensable resource to other mothers striving to live more sustainably.
Large publishers are increasingly turning their focus toward environmental concerns. UK’s Rough Guides and Australia’s Lonely Planet now encourage their readers to reduce their global warming impact by staying longer at each location or compensating for emissions generated during travel by making donations to Climate Care, an environmental charity based out of Britain that works on mitigating greenhouse gases emissions.
Fodor’s travel guides now feature a new section that lists LEEDS-certified hotels and green places to stay across each region of the globe, along with an alternative adventure section featuring eco-tours, community tourism initiatives, and responsible destinations.
Green travel guides offer something for every type of traveler, from those seeking to avoid resorts with large carbon footprints to those concerned with how their trips affect local communities. Historically, one such book, known as The Green Book was used by African American travelers during Jim Crow-era America – when black travelers risked harassment, violence or even murder when travelling away from home – listing restaurants, hotels, motels, barber shops and gas stations that welcomed black customers as customers.
Today’s travelers visiting Europe are likely to consult one of Fodor’s city guides from his collection of travel books – particularly 2020 editions with detailed street maps and the latest in arts, culture, design and hotel offerings.