As it is summer time, many of us will be taking holidays and staycations are the order of the day in 2009. Vacationing in Ireland may not be something that we want to do every year but the benefits for our economy and environment cannot be underestimated. Staycations help to keep money flowing, and retain jobs in the tourism industry.  As well as helping to improve our economy, encouraging people to holiday at home reduces transport related emissions from travel – good for the environment too.

Despite our weather this summer (is it ever going to make up its mind?) there are lot of activities that you can do. For the sporty out there try hill walking, horse rising or even surfing. The surf in Ireland is one of the world’s best kept secrets. Get yourself a good wetsuit and get on out there. Check out the Discover Ireland site for more information. You can even join in with one of the many local festivals happening around the country or get in touch with nature. Check out Birdwatch Ireland, or even get out and do some whale watching.

There are also lots of options for accommodation  – from camping and caravanning to staying in top class hotels and everything in between. However what can sometimes be difficult is finding somewhere with a good environmental ethos. Recently the Green Hospitality Awards have been launched. By choosing a hotel with one of these awards you know that they are considering their environmental impact and attempting to reduce it.

One hotel is taking this a step further. The Westport Woods Hotel has won a number of awards for implementing green programmes, including the Green Hospitality Award, a Green Award in 2008 and awards from SEI. They have introduced initiatives in the areas of energy, waste and water management. However, they are looking for our help to do more. Voice your opinion through their (very) short survey. It is an opportunity to influence the hotel sector and tell them that we expect more, and want them to address their environmental impact. As an added incentive, anyone that does input to the survey will receive a 20% discount on their next stay at the hotel.