Is green travel dead? Blogger Chris Elliott seems to think so, and his recent article on the fall of green travel has stirred up plenty of debate. His statement was inspired in part by a recent survey that claimed that the majority of travelers don't want to pay a premium for green products or services; but not everyone agrees. The editors at Concierge, for instance, responded with 'not so fast', and numerous green bloggers have tried to show how green travel is still alive and well - as for us, we say 'let green travel die'.

You may think this is an odd statement for a green travel magazine to make, but we think the image of green travel needs an overhaul - it's time for green travel 2.0. So it's goodbye to the hippies and treehuggers, and hello to the techheads and gadget gurus, as technology needs to be the driving force behind the future of green tourism.

Getting back to nature, hemp pants, yurts and all, is always going to have a strong following, but it will also always struggle to excite the masses. Bring in innovative, eco-friendly technology that enhances the traveling experience, however, and the appeal of green travel dramatically improves.

For green travel to thrive in the future, it needs to focus on forward thinking ideas such as London's Serpentine Solar Shuttle; Montreal's wi-fi enabled Bixi bike sharing scheme, which allows users to check the real time availability of bikes before they head to a bike station, and gadgets like the Solio charger, a versatile, solar powered charger which virtually eliminates the need for disposable batteries and travel adapters while on the road.

Eco-tech also adds an extra 'cool factor' to accommodation and destinations that can help them stand out from the crowd.  Why stay at an average hotel when you could stay at a hotel such as the Proximity in Greensboro, NC, the first LEED platinum rated hotel in the US, which showcases green tech such as geothermal heating, regenerative elevators and a green roof.

Travelers may not want to pay a premium for 'natural' bodywash or in an room recycling scheme, (as these should come as standard), but when hotels start to offer in room solar chargers, or perhaps a room key that doubles as as a pass for the local bike sharing scheme, then 'green' will become something worth paying extra for.

The old image of green travel is likely to suffer a long and lingering death, of course, as unimaginative and late adopters will still be far enough behind the game to believe that switching their light bulbs will do the job; but as long as the forward thinkers and innovators can continue to push forward new ideas and introduce new products, then green travel 2.0 will stay alive, kicking and eventually become the trend setter for the entire travel industry.

So long live green travel 2.0, we belive it has a bright future ahead.

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