10 Tips for green travel on the Riviera Maya in recognition of Earth Day 2019
The Mexico Tourism Board tell us that over 24 million people passed through the Cancun International Airport last year. This number considers foreign and domestic passengers including tourists, business travelers and general transit to Quintana Roo. A great many of these visitors are drawn to this area and the Riviera Maya in particular for the astounding array of flora and fauna that can be found in this relatively small geographic region. Let’s all do our part to protect our amazing jungles, cenotes and reef systems by taking steps to travel responsibly. In recognition of Earth Day, here are 10 Tips for Green Travel on the Riviera Maya.
1. Green Before You Go! Green travel starts before you even leave for the airport. Before you lock up the house, turn your hot water heater down to its lowest setting. Make sure you have turned down your thermostat as well to a temperature that will save energy without killing your plants. Appliances, should be unplugged.
You can also make a difference by offsetting the carbon footprint of you flights here www.myclimate.org
3. Limit Your Laundry – Laundry, specifically the washing of towels and bedding, consumes almost 40% of the average resort’s energy usage expended for hot water. If you are willing to use your towels and sheets for more than one day you can help reduce their overall energy use by up to 5%.
4. Switch Off and Save – Switching off the air-conditioning during the day while you are out and by switching off/unplugging appliances that are not is use you reduce its energy consumption by 25%. Close your curtains or pull the blinds down when you leave to keep out the sun and you will significantly reduce the amount of heat in the rooms when you arrive home.
5. Recycle – Familiarize yourself with your recycling program offered by your property management and sort your trash accordingly.
6. Walk the Walk – The downtown areas of our coastal cities are very manageable by foot. Most visitors can easily see and experience all that downtown has to offer on foot or on a bicycle which can be rented by the day or by the week.
7. Responsible TOURism – There is so much to do and see in and around the Riviera Maya. Going on an organized tour and utilizing their transportation is a more eco-friendly alternative to renting a car and going it on your own. All of our tours have been carefully vetted and align with our pledge to support sustainable and eco friendly tourism. Choose an approved biodegradable reef-safe sunscreen. The chemicals found in most commercial sun blocks are harmful to coral and sea life. When exploring ruins or the surrounding jungle, stay on the marked paths. While it may be tempting to touch or feed the wildlife in and out of the water, please refrain from doing do and always maintain a reasonable distance between you and the indigenous wildlife.
For bookings www.mayaluxe.com/experiences
8 Charge it Up – Try to avoid disposable batteries. These are of particular concern as if they end up in one of our dumps, they will degrade and leach toxic chemicals into the earth which cannot be filtered out by the limestone, ultimately poisoning our water supply. If you must use them, please bring the dead batteries home and recycle them properly.
9. Eco-Bags Are Cool – If you are planning to stay on the Riviera Maya for any amount of time, you will most likely do some shopping. Please use re-usable shopping bags so you are not contributing to the plastic epidemic that is currently plaguing the region.
10. Carry Reusable Bottles – The importance of keeping hydrated during a Riviera Maya vacation is often overlooked but cannot be overstated. Many travel related illnesses (headaches, intestinal issues etc.) sometimes attributed to tainted food or water are simply an unpleasant side effect of dehydration. Bring a re-usable bottle and refill as you go. Research indicates that 9 out of 10 plastic water bottles wind up as garbage. That adds up to 30 million bottles a day worldwide. Unfortunately, it can take a thousand years for each one of those plastic bottles to biodegrade. Carrying a reusable bottle is one of the simplest things you can do to reduce plastic waste and help protect the environment.