Israel’s tourism industry has made some serious changes recently. The Ministry of Tourism announced a few months ago that it was going ‘green’ for 2009, stating that it had a plan that included “environment-sensitive planning and development; preservation of the cultural and social heritage; developing tourism and new jobs in agricultural areas and the periphery while improving the quality of life for the residents and educating and raising awareness among residents and tourists about the importance of developing sustainable tourism.”
While it’s great that environmentally friendly tourism is getting the green light from the government, lots of private businesses are taking eco initiatives in the tourism field as well.
So far we’ve witnessed environmentally friendly guesthouses, and in transportation news – cycling wine tour routes, sightjogging tours, and now… carbon neutral car rentals courtesy of Avis.
When you book your car rental with Avis, one of the leading car rental companies in Israel and worldwide, you now have the option of paying a little bit extra to neutralize the effects of your driving on the environment by planting trees. To date, Avis, its staff, and its customers have planted over 200,000 trees together. Avis also claims that its fleet of cars is highly efficient, which hopefully makes the fuel consumption more efficient as well. (Of course, its no fleet of hybrid cars such as the Prius… but baby steps.)
And if you don’t trust Avis’s carbon neutral tree planting but would like to offset your car rental emissions yourself, consider planting some trees through Keren Kayemeth L’Israel (KKL) – it’s very easy and you can even do it online.
Read more on eco tourism issues in Israel
Controversial Red-Dead Sea Canal on Hold – But why?
Neighbors’ Paths: Eco-Tourism AND Eco-Peace!
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Howdy! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would
be ok. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look
forward to new posts.
Inchirieri de masini Bucuresti, Inchirieri Auto Baneasa si Otopeni. Parcul nostru auto detine cele mai bune solutii la preturi imbatabile. Daca doriti sa inchiriati o masina de la aeroportul Baneasa sau otopeni va sugeram sa folositi rent a car baneasa.
It’s a great idea, maybe more and more car rental companies from around the world will do things like that.
Israel~~~that’s attractive! And I love their idea, Green 2009, sounds cool:)