Sustainable travel has been gaining a lot of popularity in recent times and is touted to be the future of travel as per the “new normal” with the Covid-19 pandemic acting as a catalyst for this change to come sooner.
Switzerland has been one of the countries pioneering in the direction of providing the travellers in this direction. There are a plethora of initiatives taken by the alpine nation to lure tourists who are looking forward to enjoying a sustainable, guilt-free vacation.
Conscious travellers will find a lot of activities in Switzerland that have been designed to protect the environment and that use the resources of the country, judiciously. For example, a 450m Solar Ski Lift in Saline Valley is used to transport snow sports enthusiasts to and fro the mountain peaks and simultaneously used to produce solar power. Using the power required for the operation of the Ski Lift, the excess production of power is sold to environmentally conscious parties in the region.
A major reason for the reduced carbon footprint is the Swiss Travel System. It has the world’s most effective public transportation system — a fully-integrated air, train, and bus system — powered majorly by clean hydroelectric power sources. The country is an active advocate of public transport for citizens as well as tourists not only because it is fast and reliable but also to minimize negative impact in Alpine areas.
A train journey generates 20 times less CO2 than a car journey on a comparable route. And with SBB’s (1) eco-friendly transport solutions and its drive to move major traffic onto the railways, Switzerland saves five million tonnes of CO2-emissions per year, equivalent to 10 percent of the country’s overall emissions.
As eco-tourism takes precedence, Switzerland has been promoting businesses, academic initiatives, as well as other enterprises, determined to make bio-friendly use of resources for the entire world’s benefit.
The alpine country has a number of “Green Accommodations” that include farm stays, hotels, and campsites equipped with plenty of ecologically sound facilities like proper recycling of waste, usage of a heating system devoid of oil or wood, and optimized resource planning further boost their ratings of eco-consciousness.
According to the federal forestry law, forests must occupy at least thirty percent of the nation’s land. As a result, Switzerland has numerous places filled with clear, fresh air coming from the forests that abound in a variety of flora and fauna.
Surveys like the Environmental Performance Index have ranked Switzerland as a sustainable nation. They cite both air quality and water quality as being the best in the world, and Switzerland ranks exceptionally high on biodiversity and ecosystem vitality.(IANS)
