Traveling to "Canada" 90 minutes away from Paris, spending a night in an eco-friendly hotel... Here are different ways to travel more responsibly.
Episode 9 of our series of stories on eco-citizen initiatives with French author Julien Vidal.
Episode 9 of our series of stories on eco-citizen initiatives with French author Julien Vidal.
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TravelTranscript
00:00Every year, tourism emits 8% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
00:06Today, we're going to see how to be more responsible travelers.
00:19When we talk about pollution in tourism, we immediately think of transport,
00:22and in particular of the plane. It's simple.
00:24A return trip to Paris, New York, emits as much CO2
00:28as all the consumption of a Frenchman in heating per year.
00:31So what do we do? It's simple.
00:33We take the train that emits up to 50 times less CO2.
00:49Hi Ferdinand.
00:50Hi Julien.
00:51How are you?
00:52I'm fine, and you?
00:53I'm fine. You're co-founder of Chill Away,
00:55a movement that takes on a micro-adventure,
00:57and today you're making us live the micro-adventure
00:59and discover Canada in 90 minutes from Paris, right?
01:02Exactly.
01:03Well, let's go.
01:04Let's go.
01:05We're not going to wander around all day.
01:08New York
01:18Paris
01:20Paris
01:24To infinity
01:25and beyond.
01:37You see, Julien, I really feel like I'm in David Croquette's skin.
01:40Yeah, it's an adventure.
01:41This is the real adventure.
01:43We haven't seen anyone since the two hours we've been paddling.
01:47Listen to this silence, which is just incredible.
01:51Ferdinand, we don't need to go to the other side of the planet
01:55and take the plane to live the adventure, right?
01:58Exactly, Julien.
01:59That's really the concept of micro-adventure.
02:01It's the contrary.
02:02We can live a micro-adventure.
02:04It's really the concept of micro-adventure.
02:06It's the contrary.
02:07We can live a really beautiful adventure.
02:09Great nature.
02:10A few kilometers from the big islands or from where we live.
02:13We made the observation when we started Chiloé
02:16that we had traveled the world a bit,
02:20like many people, in search of our next adventure.
02:23I think we all do.
02:24We wait patiently all year to go on a long trip and a great trip.
02:29And finally, what do we do the rest of the year?
02:31We realized that the micro-adventure was about
02:33living more often experiences in nature.
02:36In France, there are a lot of crazy places,
02:39like crossing the Mercantour,
02:42crossing the Vercors in winter,
02:44skiing or paddling,
02:47going down or crossing the Chemin de Stevenson with a donkey,
02:51or, for example, for those who live in Paris,
02:53I don't know, going down the Seine in stand-up paddle
02:56from the outskirts of Paris to Honfleur.
03:00Today, when you go to Greece, Spain, Russia, etc.,
03:04the culture is quite similar.
03:07You will meet a lot of tourists on your way.
03:09We will find all the same photos on Instagram afterwards.
03:12The bet we make is to tell ourselves
03:14that the real adventurer today of modern times
03:16is the one who will, in the summer,
03:18in Auvergne, along the Meuselle,
03:20who goes to the Ardennes,
03:21where people will prefer the sea,
03:23it may be the one who will go down a river.
03:31Bingo!
03:33Land in sight!
03:39Come on, Robinson!
03:41So, we have more than 10 boats for the evening?
03:44Yes, exactly.
03:45You see, we are all a little tired
03:47of paddling so much.
03:49I think we will calmly unload
03:51what is in the canoe
03:53and then we will, I think,
03:55distribute the tasks between
03:57setting up the tent, preparing the dinner.
04:06Yes!
04:08I can tell you, in one day,
04:10it's crazy how the daily life
04:12of the city, the work, and everything,
04:14it's gone.
04:15I feel like we've been here for a week.
04:17You have the feeling of disconnecting quickly
04:21and when you come back,
04:22you feel like you've gone very far.
04:24Rather than thinking about a destination
04:26where we are going to check boxes,
04:28here it is almost the means of transport
04:30that becomes the adventure itself.
04:32That's exactly it.
04:33The trip is not the destination,
04:35it is the fact of going there,
04:37it is the fact of being on the move.
04:38You know, you can spend a lot of time
04:40always projected into your goals,
04:42whether professional or even on a trip.
04:44We are going to South America
04:46to see Machu Picchu,
04:48to go to the Everest, etc.
04:50And finally, the present moment,
04:52the real present moment,
04:54the moment you are living in your trip
04:56and it's not the destination,
04:57it's not the goal, the objective,
04:59it's the present moment.
05:00Behind the micro-adventure,
05:01there is this idea of re-understanding nature.
05:04Cousteau said a great sentence,
05:06he said,
05:07we love what amazes us
05:09and we protect what we love.
05:11And we realized,
05:13by founding Chiloé,
05:15by launching Chiloé,
05:16that by encouraging citizens like us
05:18to spend more time in nature,
05:20in the long run,
05:21we want to protect it a little more.
05:24So, when we talk about eco-responsible trips,
05:27we think about experiences in the middle of nature,
05:29but there are also ways to reduce
05:31your ecological footprint
05:33when you visit large urban centers
05:35like here in Paris.
05:36François, hello.
05:38Hello, William.
05:39Thank you for the welcome.
05:40We are here for you to introduce us
05:42to the Solar Hotel.
05:43The Solar Hotel, which is the ecological hotel,
05:45par excellence,
05:46when we talk about eco-responsible hotels in Paris.
05:48This year, it's been 10 years
05:49since we opened the Solar Hotel.
05:51So, yes, it's true that today
05:52we have become a bit of a reference.
05:53And by the way,
05:54you can see it right away,
05:55we just had to raise our heads.
05:56You announce the color directly
05:58with solar panels on the facade.
06:00These solar panels allow to power
06:02the facade of the hotel
06:03and the small courtyard inside.
06:05Can you show us that?
06:06Yes, of course.
06:07Let's go.
06:13So, here you can see
06:14the solar panels on the facade.
06:16The solar panels on the facade
06:19Here you can see some of our labels.
06:21In particular, the green key,
06:22which is the most important label for us.
06:24Because it's the first label
06:25we got after our transition.
06:37Here we are.
06:38Welcome to the origin of our rooms.
06:40All supplies are recycled
06:42and maintained since 1992, right?
06:45Maximum, of course.
06:46When it's completely broken,
06:48we change it.
06:49In terms of maintenance,
06:51I imagine that all cleaning products
06:54are organic,
06:55probably a lot of white vinegar,
06:57certified products.
06:58Yes, yes.
06:59Not only is it important for customers,
07:01because when they come to us,
07:03they don't breathe toxic products,
07:05but it's also very important
07:06for the women in the rooms
07:07who work at our hotel.
07:08So here we are in the small breakfast room
07:11of the hotel.
07:12And so I guess
07:13everything we see here is organic, right?
07:15Exactly.
07:16We are lucky to have several organic suppliers
07:19for breakfast,
07:20so we only have the choice box.
07:21Cereals, apple juice, milk,
07:24and an organic bakery next door
07:26that provides us with bread
07:27and 100% organic croissants
07:28all week long.
07:30And this is your peace tree?
07:32Exactly.
07:33This is our little courtyard
07:34which is really unique.
07:36And we see bikes.
07:37Exactly.
07:38So there are normally
07:39about ten of them.
07:41We see that it's summer
07:42and that people are enjoying it.
07:45There are only three left.
07:46Because these are bikes
07:47that you make available for free?
07:48Yes, exactly.
07:49It would be unthinkable for us
07:50to pay for the rental of the bikes.
07:52On the contrary,
07:53we encourage people
07:54to take the bikes as much as possible.
07:55Besides,
07:56this is something
07:57that we haven't said yet,
07:58but in fact,
07:59when we look at the prices
08:00of the Solar Hotel,
08:01we could think
08:02that the ecological approach
08:03necessarily implies a surplus,
08:04while in fact
08:05you are not only
08:06largely in the prices,
08:07but perhaps almost
08:08even a little below, right?
08:09The goal was to be
08:10ecological and economic.
08:12To make a long-term stay
08:14accessible to everyone.
08:17Thank you François
08:18for this visit
08:19which was exciting
08:20and well done for your work.
08:21You're welcome.
08:22Thank you for coming to see us.
08:23See you next time.
08:24See you soon.
08:29We have just seen
08:30that there is no need
08:31to go to the other side of the planet
08:32to live a real adventure.
08:35Because in fact,
08:36to travel in an eco-responsible way,
08:38it starts at the doorstep.
08:42Changing your world
08:43is changing the world
08:44and participating in the construction
08:45of a better world,
08:46it starts with me.