Why did we write the book and what are some of the things we write about in the book? First, we wrote "Are We There Yet? Traveling more responsibly with your children" because having studies tourism for over half a century we are well aware of the impacts, positive and negative of tourism and are well aware that most people, especially those with children, will not want to give up their vacations and not travel at all. We all value our holidays and being able to "get away from it all", so we thought it better to provide advice and examples of how you can travel with reduced harmful effects.

Accommodation: where you stay and what type of accommodation you use is important in terms of the impacts you have on the places you visit (including places you pass through on the way there and back home). It is important to make sure places advertising themselves aa "sustainable' or "responsible" really are that and not just "greenwashing" (claiming to be green when they are not). There are many websites, such as ecoclub.com, which can provide information on how valid such claims are, and you can also seek information from the places themselves.

Transport: how you get to you holiday destination is also really important in terms of the effects different kinds of travel have on the environment and destinations. While flying may be unavoidable in getting to some destinations, you could consider alternatives more accessible by other forms of travel. You can select the airlines with lowest emissions, or those with heavier occupancy figures, and certainly those that fly direct to your destination thus reducing flying time and high emission of takeoffs. Travelling by car may seem environmentally problematic, but driving in an economic manner, picking quieter routes, visiting interesting places en route can reduce the impact and also spread your spending to other places.

Activities: many activities have only minor impacts on the environment and yield real benefits to local residents, such as eating at local restaurants, using local guides and services, and buying goods and souvenirs that are made locally. All these actions reduce travel miles of importing goods and spread your money through local economies, and can make you more welcome at places your visit.

Luggage: "half the clothes and double the money" is an old adage but has some value. On most holidays we never use all the clothes we take, nor do we need to carry heavy books or toys or other items. Reducing the volume and weight of your luggage can save money and time (no check-in baggage if flying), children can pack and carry their own luggage and gain useful experience in deciding what is important and taking responsibility for their own items.

In the book there are lots of other ways you can reduce your footprint and become more welcome as a visitor to places, and we include lost of examples from friends about how to adjust to travelling with children, which you may find has a number of benefits as well as inconveniences. You may even find that you can save money, have travel seem easier, have new experiences and come back from holiday with new ideas about how to behave at home.