CHEW Valley Travel agent Stephanie Ashman is spreading the word about sustainable travel after founding a website and magazine dedicated to the issue.
Stephanie Ashman appeared on ITV 1’s Tonight with Trevor McDonald last week to raise awareness of her project and the importance of sustainable travel.
“There is a stereotype of sustainable travel that it either involves camping or is really expensive,” said Ashman, who talked on national TV about eco-holidays and the issue of flights and carbon emissions.
Already staff at Chew Valley Travel – recently acquired by Thorton’s Travel Service in Bristol – have begun talking to customers about off-setting carbon emissions on flights.
But plans for the agency to develop a specialism in sustainable travel are on hold until the takeover beds in.
Ashman launched website Sustravel.co.uk in July this year after graduating in law and history.
The site allows members to learn from the experiences of others interested in sustainable tourism while encouraging them to add content of their own.
She added: “There are some good operators and agencies but the information tends to be restricted to a page or two in abrochure. There was not a single source of information for people who want to travel responsibly.”
Ashman’s TV appearance has already boosted interest in her website and electronic magazine Bello Mundo. The site now has more than 300 subscribers, she said.
Sustravel.co.uk is also due to launch its own carbon calculator, which instead of promoting the idea of carbon off-setting air travel encourages passengers to take direct action.
Ashman said users would be able to convert carbon emissions from a flight into ways of reducing their emissions personally, such as using low-energy bulbs, cycling to work or using renewable energy.
The electronic magazine can be downloaded from the site in a pdf format and is due to include video and audio content.
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