Felicity Long
In the spirit of the holidays, it's nice to take a look back at the highlights of the passing year. Let's face it, though, it's been a tough year for some parts of Europe.
Uncertainty and drama about Brexit, the alarming acceleration of melting ice sheets in Greenland, the heartbreaking fire at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and the unexpected violence surrounding the Catalan independence movement in Spain are just some of the low points Europeans had to contend with in 2019.
But there have been bright spots as well, and for those of us who love traveling to the Continent, hopefully they can serve as upbeat reminders of why the destination retains its enduring allure -- and how we can preserve it for coming generations.
With that in mind, here are a few of my favorite things from 2019. Spoiler alert: The word "green" comes up in each one.
Girl power
In the age of #metoo, it's nice to see women assuming leadership positions in Europe, both in politics and in the media.
Probably the most eye-catching example is in Finland, where newly sworn-in Sanna Marin is the world's youngest prime minister at 34. She also leads a cabinet almost completely dominated by women, including Maria Ohisalo of the Green Party, which means the country's already strong stance on sustainable travel probably isn't going away anytime soon.
It isn't easy being green
Speaking of female and young, I would be remiss not to give a shout out to Sweden's Greta Thunberg, the wunderkind ambassador for climate crisis action. Admittedly, the 16-year-old Thunberg, who was named Time magazine's 2019 Person of the Year, has made many of us uneasy about the carbon footprint attached to air travel -- in fact flygskam, or flight shaming has become a catch phrase.
But Thunberg, who travels by train in Europe, also presented an interesting option for transatlantic travel when she journeyed from England to New York via solar-powered racing yacht in August.
Of course solar-powered transatlantic crossings aren't realistic options for most of us, but Thunberg has forced us to sit up, take notice and have a serious conversation about ways we can protect the very destinations we claim to love -- and increasingly, people in the industry are listening.
Taking green travel mainstream
It's not surprising to see that green tourism has become more than just a fad in Europe, where bizarre and extreme weather events, like the record flooding in Venice, may be being triggered by global warming and are threatening to become the new normal.
Tourism entities are taking action in ways large and small.
Hotels and other travel companies are banning the use of single-use plastics, for example, and tour operators and tourism boards are getting creative with ways to offset travelers' carbon footprint.
Examples in the world of cruising include Hurtigruten's Fridtjof Nansen, which is making hybrid battery powered expedition cruise ships a reality, and Seabourn's partnership with Unesco to promote sustainable cultural tourism.
Meanwhile, France's national rail service, SNCF, just unveiled a prototype of a new TGV, or high-speed train, that will require even less energy than existing engines and which is slated to start service in 2023.
Money talks
Speaking of another sort of green, a Hopper analysis shows that consumers benefited from 17% cheaper airfares on U.S./Canada-Europe routes this year, while ticket prices on low-cost carriers are down 23%.
Recognizing their outsize role in the climate debate, airlines are exploring ways to use sustainable aviation fuel to offset carbon dioxide emissions. Lufthansa, for example, has come up with the Compensaid sustainability platform, which allows passengers to opt to offset their carbon footprint by as much as 80%.
So despite the disappointing outcome of this month's U.N. conference on climate change in Madrid -- where no consensus was reached -- it could be that we the people, worldwide, will tackle this global crisis at a grassroots level, even if governments will not.
On that slightly optimistic note, happy holidays, and here's hoping that 2020 will bring too much good news to fit into one column.