Introduction

Travelling opens doors to new landscapes, cultures, and experiences, but it also leaves behind a carbon footprint. At intoAsturias, we believe exploring Northern Spain shouldn’t come at the expense of the planet we love. That’s why we’re committed to sustainability, and take a transparent approach to measuring, reducing, and offsetting the environmental impact of our trips. We ensure the negative impact on the climate is minimized while maximizing the positive impact on people, nature, and animals.

Planning Sustainable Trips

We ensure that our trips have the greatest possible positive impact on local residents and the destination, and a minimal impact on the climate. To determine this, we measure the positive and negative effects of our clients’ travels.

When designing your itinerary, the positive choices we make include selecting sustainable accommodation, working with local guides, and visiting natural parks. At the same time, we measure CO₂ emissions and support initiatives in Northern Spain to offset this impact.

Making Positive Choices

1. Choosing Eco-friendly Accommodations
   • We choose the accommodation for your trip considering their sustainability certifications and scale of operations.
   • We look for hotels, rural guesthouses (“casas rurales”), and ecolodges with Biosphere Certified labels, EU Ecolabels, B-Corp certifications, or other sustainability certifications, or those who belong to Nekatur, Soy Ecoturista, or the Cluster Asturas groups. At the very least, we ensure they have sustainability measures in place, to ensure your CO₂ emissions in this category are kept at a minimum.
   • We also work with small-scale accommodations, with a maximum of 16 rooms. These often offer a lower carbon footprint, as they use less energy and water than bigger resorts. In addition, they help the local economy and often preserve a more cultural and authentic experience.
2. Working with Local Guides
   • Most of the activities included in your trips support small-scale, regional guides, who advocate for sustainable tourism. They’re knowledgeable about the surroundings and highlight the importance of conserving the culture and nature of the destination you’re visiting, making sure your tour gives back to the local community.
3. Visiting Natural and/or National Parks
   • We encourage travelers to include a visit to Natural and/or National Parks, such as the Picos de Europa, the Lagos de Covadonga, or the Oyambre Natural Park. Entrance fees (even when subsidised by the government) and tourism revenue often go directly toward conservation. In this way, you help protect biodiversity and preserve natural and cultural heritage.

Reducing Negative Impacts

1. Calculating the greenhouse gas (GHG) CO₂ emissions of the trip.
   • This includes the accommodation, meals included, activities, and in some cases, transport.
   • Once we finish calculating, we generate a report so we can visually see what categories have the biggest effects.
   • This gives us a specific goal to work towards, so we can be sure that we’re offsetting the correct amount, if not more.
2. Support CO₂ offset projects.
   • We offset our trips’ emissions by supporting projects in the Reserva de Biosfera Mariñas Coruñesas e Terras do Mandeo (the first certified ecotourism destination in Galicia). The initiatives focus on:
     • Landscape restoration: tree planting and ecological recovery to capture CO₂.
     • Biodiversity conservation: preserving native habitats and improving natural ecosystems.
     • Local tradition preservation: focusing on the agriculture, gastronomy, and job opportunities in the area.
     • Public use & awareness: creating trails and spaces that connect people with nature while ensuring sustainable access.
     • Each project is mapped and tracked transparently, which you can view here.
3. Assigning a percentage of each trip to a sustainable cause.
   • If you book directly through our website, we direct a specific quantity of your travel expenses to supporting local eco-friendly initiatives. These include:
     • An annual environmental education activity in Asturias, led by myself
     • Supporting the quebrantahuesos project
     • Supporting the rewilding project in Arriondas

Conclusion

By choosing eco-friendly places to stay, supporting local conservation, and funding projects that restore nature, we carefully craft sustainable trips make sure your travel gives back more than it takes. This way, you can enjoy the beauty of Northern Spain while knowing your visit also helps protect it for the future. Read more about our commitment to sustainable travel here.

We can’t wait to welcome you to this region!