Even though there is still plenty to do in 2021 in the battle against climate change, ecocide and social inequalities, 2020 also brought us a plethora of positive changes which deserve to be celebrated.

Now is the time to look back and to recap some of the success stories. Keep reading to look back on some of the biggest environmental wins of 2020.

Have you ever had a staycation? If not, then this is the perfect time to try it out.

Between the colder weather and COVID-19, many people are choosing to stay indoors and travel no further than their town, city’s or state’s limits. The silver lining is that by avoiding traveling far away, you not only limit your CO2 footprint, but also save money while supporting your locals! So whether you’re looking for staycation inspiration for the short or long-term, we’ve got you covered.

Here are four tips to put together an enjoyable and eco-friendly staycation of your own.

Instagram has found its way to the hearts of wanderlust-filled travelers thanks to its easy-to-use features and eye-catching content. On the platform, users share moments from their everyday lives with their friends and followers via posts and stories. Traveling is no exception. Posts from tourism destinations around the world have become increasingly popular, leading to the rise in tourism in the world’s most picturesque destinations.

In this blog, we’ll cover why and how Instagram has changed the tourism industry along with suggestions on how your travel business can use the popular platform as a tool to boost engagement and bookings.

Sea Going Green is proud to announce that we have officially partnered with CO2 offsetting project, SeaGrass Grow!

SeaGrass Grow (a project of The Ocean Foundation) conducts coastal habitat restoration projects around the world by rehabilitating and conserving seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, and salt marshes to capture and sequester CO2, prevent storm surge, enhance the quality of marine habitats for local species, improve water quality and more!

Learn more about their mission, projects and impact in our blog interview with Ben Scheelk, Program Officer at The Ocean Foundation.

While sustainable food production and sourcing is not a new concept, this trend in the hospitality industry has cultivated a newfound interest in foodies and managers alike. Sustainable food production and consumption not only benefits hotels to reduce their environmental impact, but also supports local communities and builds consumer loyalty.

In this blog, we’ll look at the three hottest trends in sustainable food experiences from the local sourcing of products to urban farming to zero-waste creations. Together, these three trends are setting the scene for the future of innovative sustainable dining experiences. Read on to see how!

In an attempt to revive the industry as coronavirus continues to pose a threat, the focus of marketing campaigns and target market strategies have been shifted primarily towards the phenomenon of domestic tourism.

In this blog, I will take a look at a few of the ways travelers have been enjoying vacations closer to home and how destinations have successfully marketed to these domestic travelers.

With consumers becoming more aware than ever of the impact their shopping choices have on the planet, now is a great time to look at 7 examples of how bamboo is becoming a viable eco-alternative. In this blog, we’ll cover 7 sustainable bamboo alternatives to common household items from toothbrushes to re-usable cutlery to toilet paper.

Bead the Change is an initiative that supports local female entrepreneurs in Ghana while promoting projects that are working towards increased social and environmental sustainability. Each color of their bracelets is associated with a specific cause that you can choose to support. With each sale of a traditionally-made glass beaded bracelet, a portion of the proceeds is donated to these projects, which is a win-win for the local economy, livelihoods and our planet!

Keep reading to find out more about Bead the Change’s mission, how they make their bracelets and how they are pushing the sustainability agenda forward with each bead made!

Here in Part Two of the ‘Cruise Line Sustainability’ series, we address each of the challenges identified in Part One to provide a broad, high level overview of current and potential areas of focus to improve sustainability.

Imagine ending another day working from home in COVID-19 lockdown with a quick trip to Tokyo, Paris or Venice? Or a visit to a Borneo nature reserve? Or a dive into the world’s most beautiful coral reefs? Now in virtual reality (VR) it is possible to teleport yourself to a different landscape and culture within seconds without the jet lag, CO2 footprint or stresses of a long-haul flight.

In this blog, I will give a first-hand account of the kind of sustainable travel experiences that you can find in virtual reality as well as VR’s potential to innovate the tourism industry post-COVID. Let’s jet-set!

Understanding why CO2 neutrality should be your new business milestone will put you in the right direction of lessening your environmental footprint.

CO2 neutrality is a great goal to achieve as a business to play your part in giving back to the environment as well as strengthening your company and its potential as a brand. Want to know how? Read my top tips.

Sea Going Green is excited to announce our partnership with Justdiggit!

Justdiggit is an initiative that focuses on turning degraded lands that have become dry and barren into lush green areas throughout Kenya and Tanzania. This not only positively impacts the farmers that are able to work on the land, but also the surrounding biodiversity, local people and of course, our climate.

Recycling and communicating proper disposal are the main strategies that are used to prevent waste from ending up in our nature, waterways and our oceans. Truthfully, these strategies still require improvements to be fully effective, which is why it is so important, whether you are on land or at sea, to encourage beachgoers and guests to recycle.

In this blog you’ll find useful strategies that you can incorporate into your operations.

Tiny houses are the latest vacation rental craze, especially for the adventurous traveller who is looking for unique sustainable experiences and value for money.

In this blog, I’ll discuss what makes these tiny house rentals so unique while highlighting some examples of how these accommodations can help you lower your environmental footprint while traveling.

Back in 2018, we wrote about the closing of Maya Beach in Thailand in the wake of environmental degradation caused by the phenomenon of overtourism. This closure signified an on-going trend: that many popular destinations were at capacity for tourism.

Now, 2 years later, we’ve had the chance to interview with Manuel San Martin from the Pura Vida Diving Koh Phi Phi Center to gain insight into the progress that has been made on Koh Phi Phi Leh and how the new sustainable tourism plan will take shape once the bay re-opens “tentatively” in 2021.

Dive in and read more about Maya Bay’s progress towards recovery and what lies ahead for the island.

Biodegradable, eco-friendly, organic – these green branding concepts have rapidly burst into our lives and continue to gain momentum, forcing businesses to reckon with them. Today, a third of customers prefer to interact with brands for whom eco consciousness is more than just a phrase, but a core principle.

Luckily, many international organizations and businesses have begun taking aggressive action to combat the deterioration of natural conditions including changes within their own operations. As a result, restructured marketing can be used as a tool to reflect these changes to become a full-fledged herald of the brand's sustainable mission and convey this to as many potential customers as possible.

You’re probably thinking, what can I do and how can I do this– let's unpack this now.

From experiencing different cultures to exploring new sights and sounds to connecting with people from diverse communities: there are a million and one reasons people travel around the globe. However, even the tourism industry cannot escape the murkiness of climate change as evidenced by the growing body of research showcasing just how much globetrotting is impacting the environment.

This blog will examine the environmental impacts, particularly CO2 emissions, that tourism is having as a result of current tourism practices concluding with insights on what can be done to alleviate these impacts and change the face of tourism for the better.

As we live out our day-to-day lives, it is easy to forget how intertwined our surroundings actually are. While the social and environmental worlds seem completely different from one another, if you look closer you can see that they are more dependent than you may have thought.

In this blog, I will look into how, in many cases, injustices develop from a disconnection with nature. Keep reading to see how our choices can perpetuate domino effects on the society around us and how to adapt our thinking to fight injustices and inequalities.

When we think of going on a cruise, dream destinations, ocean views, impeccable service and an all-round memorable travel experience come to mind. Globally, 272 cruise ships carry around 30 million passengers annually making the cruise industry a big player in the international tourism sector. In 2020, however, everything changed.

This pandemic, as with many industries worldwide, has placed additional question marks around the need to adapt to survive. For the cruise industry, addressing environmental concerns and increasing sustainability will potentially be a make or break. The question is: will the industry pivot to focus on #BuildingBackBetter, or will recovering profit margins play a singular role?

Sea Going Green is proud to officially partner with Netherlands-based foundation and CO2 compensation provider Trees for All. To reduce emissions, Trees for All plants trees in The Netherlands and the rest of the world, from Costa Rica to Uganda!

In this week’s blog, we’ll hear firsthand from Simone Groenendijk from Trees for All about how the program came to be and the positive impacts they’ve made so far!