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Sustainable tourism is something that we all need to be thinking about now. We are in the midst of a climate emergency along with a lot of historical, cultural and environmental areas being eroded due to overtourism - The Lake District, for instance, has taken steps to limit over tourism in the national park (read about their Go Lakes Travel Programme here). But there is a fine balance that is needed to make sure that areas reliant on tourism for their economy aren’t adversely affected financially or environmentally.
Winchester is the ancient capital of England so is of huge cultural and historic importance, one that everyone should have the chance of visiting. So what can we do to limit the impact of tourism on the area without losing these sites to visitors or adversely affecting the local economy?
Most of our properties are within the city centre which has great public transport links. The mainline station serves Southampton and Bournemouth to the south and London to the north. There is a coach station that also serves all the major cities and towns of the south. Being the city centre also means most of the historical sites can be accessed on foot from our properties rather than having to drive to them.
If you do need to drive to get to Winchester, most of our properties have free parking which means you can ditch the car for the duration of your stay and get around on foot. If you fancy travelling further afield why not hire a bike and cycle around? Visit Bespoke Biking in the city centre or hire an electric bike from The Cycle Company just a short distance out of the city.
Hiring bikes or staying within the city on foot also helps the local business as the money you spend will stay within Winchester. We have some amazing independent restaurants and shops in Winchester so choosing these over a larger chain will also make sure you are helping the sustainability of the area and local economy. (Read our post on the boutiques of Parchment Street here)
The timing of your holiday can also impact the area if huge amounts of people descend all at the same time. Obviously we are in the UK which has notoriously unpredictable weather but as the summer months are generally the drier and warmer many people flock to city breaks then, as well as for us in Winchester, during the Christmas Market in November and December. Spreading the tourism season out also helps the local economy as spend is spread throughout the year rather than concentrated into a few shorts months. Winchester is beautiful at all times of the year so make the most of all months!
It's not just what you, the visitor, can do either. We know we also have a responsibility to the environment and the local area and economy so what are we doing?
We use plastic free and environmentally friendly cleaning products
We are working towards plastic free toiletries
We use a local workforce for our housekeeping & maintenance, giving local residents work - we also pay above the living wage
We use a local business for our laundry services
We promote and recommend local restaurants, shops and attractions
We require all our properties to be on renewable or green energy tariffs
We execute the recommendations on the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) for each property as much as we can
We make use of recycled or upcycled furniture in our properties as much as possible
We will also continue working with the property owners as well as local government and businesses so we can all do our best to make sure Winchester stays beautiful for generations to come and visit as well as being a wonderful place to live and work.
To find out more about what we do for sustainability at A,D8 UK Limited go here
For more information on sustainable travel and tourism in general visit www.sustainabletravel.org
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