How to Make Your Dive Holiday Sustainable

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Written by Reef-World

Get all the info you need on sustainable travel and make the right kind of impact with your next dive holiday

Buzzwords such as ‘Sustainable travel’, ‘Eco-travel’ and ’Ethical travel’ are often applied to destinations and businesses with little thought as to what they might actually mean, and it’s not always clear what you can do as an individual to ensure your holiday might be considered ‘sustainable’. Here, our partners at ZuBlu shared their top tips on how to minimise your impact while travelling.

What exactly is sustainable travel?

The concept of sustainable travel is actually quite straightforward - to have a positive impact on the destination and the local inhabitants, without damaging the natural habitat or cultural heritage. Yet, while it might be easy to define, in reality it can be difficult for both divers and non-divers to ensure you make the right decisions and keep your impact to a minimum while travelling.

Both ZuBlu and Reef-World’s Green Fins initiative offer fantastic resources for tourists wanting to dive and travel more sustainably: from extensive scuba diving and snorkelling guidelines to ‘at-a-glance’ sustainable resort searches. And by looking at the three pillars of sustainable travel - ecological, economic, and social - we can ensure travellers can find the information they need to make a more informed decision about who they should book with.

So, what can individual travellers do?

For many divers and travellers, minimising the environmental impact of their holiday is as important as finding the right resort or the best season to visit. But what exactly can you do to ensure you have a positive impact during your next dive holiday? There are lots of small actions that individuals can take before, during and after their holiday to reduce their impact and ensure a dive trip is as sustainable as it can be.

Booking your flight

While the industry continues to make significant improvements to its planes, the carbon-cost of a flight will always be the most important factor when considering the impact of your travels. To keep your carbon footprint low, book a direct flight in economy with a carrier that is always busy, has a strict policy on extra baggage and a high seat density. Budget airlines do well in this respect and should be your first choice when booking flights.

Before you fly

Planning ways to reduce the impact of your trip is essential to travelling sustainably. The less weight you travel with the less carbon you are responsible for so consider packing light. You can also ditch those single-use plastics and remember to pack environmentally friendly toiletries and reef-safe sunscreen. Turning off all your electrical items at home saves energy and using e-tickets on your phone will reduce paper waste. You may also want to calculate and offset the carbon footprint created from your trip.

During your holiday

A holiday should be relaxing but there are still a few simple things you can think about during your trip to reduce its overall impact. Using shared taxis or buses, buying and eating local food, using air-conditioning responsibly and purchasing local souvenirs will all help to reduce the carbon footprint of a holiday. Other small actions include saying no to single-use plastic straws and carrying a refillable water bottle and cutlery set. Also, remember to always respect and support the local cultures, religions and livelihoods of the local people.

Choosing a sustainable dive resort

Many dive operators are dedicated to creating a more sustainable travel industry by ensuring their own businesses are run as sustainably as possible. Choosing to support resorts that protect their reefs, marine life and the local community will send a message to other businesses that sustainability is the only way forward. But what’s the best way to find out exactly what a company does to help protect the environment so you can decide where to go and what to do? At ZuBlu, we consider five different factors of sustainability when working with a dive resort or centre - the environment, social, economy, marine life and experiences. Using these five factors, we’ve put together some key points that any traveller can think about when booking a sustainable resort or dive centre.

How does the resort look after marine life?

One of the most important factors for choosing a sustainable dive resort is how they interact with the marine environment. Encouraging guests to follow scuba diving and snorkelling guidelines, such as those laid out by Green Fins, suggests the resort cares about actively working to protect the reefs they visit. Resorts might also demonstrate their commitment to preserving marine life with regular beach clean-ups, clean-up dives, using mooring buoys instead of anchoring and taking part in conservation efforts such as reef and marine life monitoring.

How does the resort protect the environment?

Over half of the total waste in our oceans originates from just five countries – all of which are in Asia. While there are huge efforts throughout the continent to reduce ‘plastic leakage’, there often isn’t the infrastructure to deal with such vast amounts of waste. As home to the coral triangle, with nearly 600 species of coral and 2,000 species of fish, dive centres in Asia must find effective ways to deal with their waste. Consider what actions the dive centre is taking to reduce, reuse or recycle their waste or whether they use eco alternatives to single-use plastics. Responsible waste management is part of the Green Fins Code of Conducts so, again, by choosing a Green Fins member you can be confident the dive centre is working to improve their processes in this area.

Energy is also a significant factor in sustainability, and with many dive resorts located in warm climates and close to the ocean, renewable energies such as solar and tidal can often be used. While great for solar power, these warm climates can also limit water resources. With guests showering and equipment being rinsed after each dive, scuba diving can become a water-intensive hobby, so dive centres should reduce or recycle the water they use.

How does the resort work with local communities?

Many dive destinations are located in idyllic, paradise-like settings yet the local communities can often find themselves struggling – particularly those built around fishing. Outreach and training in conservation and sustainability are essential to help communities adapt and prosper as a result of the dive industry. Dive resorts employing local people also help to ensure the community is invested in protecting their reefs while feeding money into the local economy.

How is the resort supporting the local economy?

Eating salmon on a beach in the Maldives might sound appealing, but you can guarantee that it’s been flown in from elsewhere. Consider whether the resort buys local produce, and if they serve fish, make sure it’s sustainably sourced – if you’re not sure, just ask. Traditionally designed resorts and rooms decorated with locally sourced furniture are good signs that businesses support the development of local industries, handicrafts and fairtrade products. Be sure any souvenirs on offer are free from shells, coral or other marine life as their removal from the reef can be extremely harmful to marine ecosystems.

What environmental experiences does the resort provide?

Possibly one of the most rewarding ways to make a positive impact with a dive trip is to get involved with marine conservation activities. Ocean clean-ups, scientific dives and species identification are all great examples and are becoming more widely available. Resorts that host environmental and conservation events enable guests and the local community to learn about important issues while helping to promote awareness throughout the industry. Cultural activities and excursions offered by resorts can also benefit local communities by supporting other businesses and promoting local customs and traditions.

Green Fins and ZuBlu

The dive industry is one of the most environmentally-sensitive sectors in travel with many resorts and dive centres making significant steps to ensure their business is as sustainable as possible. Green Fins is a UN Environment Programme initiative – implemented globally by The Reef-World Foundation – proven to reduce the threats and pressures posed by the scuba diving and snorkelling industry. By offering training, tools and annual assessments for members, Green Fins providess trustworthy and internationally recognised environmental standards across the dive industry. Travellers can be confident that Green Fins members carefully consider their environmental impact and aim for sustainability in everything they do.

The ZuBlu search platform allows visitors to view Green Fins member resorts at a glance, enabling them to make informed decisions for their next dive holiday. We also examine the sustainable practices of all resorts we work with, based on the five criteria outlined above – environment, social, economic, marine and experiences. This information is displayed using icons, giving our guests a quick understanding of what each resort is doing to minimise its impact on the environment and sustainably manage its business.

For more information about ZuBlu visit https://zubludiving.com/

To find out more about the Green Fins initiative and apply for membership visit www.greenfins.net