Browse the travel section of any of the large high street bookshops nowadays and you’ll find shelf space dedicated to books that show you how to travel with a conscience.

These new breed of titles reflects the growing interest in all things green - yet it wasn’t all that long ago that the only guidebooks on green holidays were limited to ideas on how to raise money for an expensive gap year conservation holiday in Africa or Asia.

I’ve recently returned from researching a guide to ‘500 new ways to see the world’, which focuses on holidays that benefit local people and the planet in the UK and overseas.

Many of the places I visited now sell themselves on ‘doing the right thing’, from spas and city centre hotels to country boltholes and luxury safari camps.

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Properties are built as low impact concerns by minimizing their draw on energy and water; restaurants provide local, seasonal and organic food; operators hire local guides and frequent locally run hotels and homestays to help contribute to the economies of local communities; some even give a discount if you arrive by public transport.

Inevitably, tourism companies everywhere are cashing in on the green pound.

Key in ‘ecolodge’ or ‘ecotourism’ into a search engine and it will throw up thousands of results, but how can you sure that any are the genuine article?

One of the most reliable indicators is whether it has been awarded a respected eco label (such as the Green Tourism Business Scheme in the UK or the EU Flower in Europe).

If it has then you know that a qualified inspector has certified that the business is worthy contender for a kitemark.

But not all places can afford to be certified, so you have to turn to one of the latest green travel guides.

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