Small sustainable gestures to look after Ibiza
It’s often the small gestures that greatly reduce our footprint on all the destinations we visit during our holidays. They’re easy choices that we can also adopt back at home to help preserve our environment. Because we all love to experience and enjoy cities and landscapes that are always well cared for and ecologically balanced.
What is sustainable tourism?
According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), sustainable tourism is “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities”. According to this description, sustainable tourism focuses on the beneficial interaction between destination and traveller, which will allow travellers to enjoy their holidays with the least impact possible on the environment and the inhabitants’ well-being.
UNWTO encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics in Tourism, in order to maximize tourism´s socio-economic contribution while minimizing its possible negative impacts.
Recommendations for more sustainable holidays in Ibiza
Transport, food, visits, culture, shopping, accommodation... There are so many settings where the traveller can choose greener and more ecologically balanced holidays that will protect the environmental beauty and health of our little paradise in the Med.
Choose family-run accommodation
Book local, family-run hotels, hostels, rural accommodation and camping sites as this strengthens the island’s economic fabric and its development. All these types of accommodation usually retain their staff year after year, and this translates into familiar smiles who welcome regular guests with warmth and joy. If you’re already part of the Hotel Ánfora family, you’ll know what we’re talking about...
Explore the surrounding area on foot or by bike
You can often enjoy the many attractions near your hotel by going out for a walk or a bike ride. If you’re staying at Hotel Ánfora, in Es Canar, you’ll be able to walk to the beaches of Cala Nova, Cala Llenya and Cala Martina; join one of the bike rides in the area; or even explore Santa Eulalia following the Great Route. Not only will you reduce your carbon emissions, you will also treat your body to an extra dose of healthy exercise. If it’s healthy for you, it’s healthy for the island.
Do you like mountian bike? If you do, you will love Ibiza!. © Jon Izeta / Ibiza.travel
Move around Ibiza in an eco-friendly or sustainable way
All car rental companies on the island offer hybrid cars that cut down CO2 emissions dramatically. Alternatively, some local businesses, such as Moto Luis, have added electric cars to their fleet and these can be charged at different stations on the island. In fact, our hotel has two charging sockets for guests. If you decide to rent a fuel-powered car, remember to drive efficiently, using higher gears as long as possible.
Emission-free fun in the water
Having fun in the sea without harming the environment is dead easy. There are plenty of exciting options: windsurf, paddle surf, snorkelling, underwater diving, kayaking or hiring a pedalo... And if you’d like to sail, you can always book a day outing along the coast of Ibiza with La Bella Verde, the only boat rental company that offers rides on a solar-powered catamaran.
Keep an eye out for seagrass while you’re sailing
If you’re going on a sailing boat, motorboat or yacht, with or without a skipper, make sure you don’t drop anchor on any Posidonia Oceánica meadows as that causes major harm to this sea plant that has a high environmental value as it provides food and refuge for different sea species, it gives stability to beaches and it releases oxygen into our waters. You can check the Posidonia meadows map published by the regional government to find the best places to drop anchor and enjoy a wonderful day out on the water.
Sailboats are the best option for a sustainable sailing. © Konrad Kaszuba / Pixabay
Have longer holidays.
As we suggested in our article “How many days does one need for a healthy holiday?”, research so far reveals that the minimum time recommended to have a properly restful holiday is 7 to 10 days. But this not only helps us, it also helps the environment because we reduce the amount of carbon emissions caused by the higher amount of journeys involved in shorter and less restful holidays.
Don’t leave anything you wouldn’t want to find in the sea
When you go to the beach, follow the different initiatives that encourage people to leave the beach cleaner than how they found it to reduce the environmental damage to our beaches and sea. You can do plogging, which is a kind of jogging that mixes sports and picking up plastic waste that’s been washed in by the sea; or you can leave the beach with at least three items of rubbish found on the beach (a can, a ball, a bottle...). Any gesture, no matter how small it may seem, is a fruitful gesture that benefits everyone else and makes our island even more beautiful.
Shop locally
Whether it’s for an island souvenir or gifts for family or friends, choose local artisans and designers instead of imported items, and go for Ibiza’s food specialities, such as the hierbas ibicencas liquor, almonds, cheese, sobrasada, traditional cakes and pastries, salt... This is another small gesture that will help Ibiza’s trade and shrink our carbon footprint.
Our hotel has two charging sockets for guests.
Hotel Ánfora is always committed to sustainability
Since its full renovation in 2017, Hotel Ánfora has been implementing new measures to ensure that our work and our services for guests are more and more efficient and sustainable. Besides installing solar panels and adopting other sustainable measures in 2020, we recently eliminated all printed material from rooms and instead use QR codes and Tablets; we have replaced plastic and aluminium containers with biodegradable ones; and we offer local toiletries made with vegan, eco-friendly formulas infused with the essence of our island.
Our most sustainable figures:
- Power consumption: we have gone from 21.95 kw/room in 2020, to 14.46 kw/room in 2021.
- Fuel consumption: we have gone from 0,364 l/room in 2020 to 0,309 l/room in 2021.
- Gas consumption: we have gone from 0,335 kg/room in 2020 to 0,200 kg/room in 2021.
- Paper consumption: Since 2019, we have cut down the use of paper by 42%.
- Plastic containers in cleaning products: Since 2019, we have reduced the use of plastic containers by 58%, replacing large bottles with small bags filled with concentrated product that dissolve in the water.
- Coffee capsules: all capsules of the Nespresso and Cafés Ibiza brands were recycled in 2021.
Main picture: Marvin_SNCR / Pixabay
