Organising overland travel to mainland Europe usually involves booking a number of different journeys - a train, followed by a boat and then a bus perhaps. It’s expensive and a hassle - even before the journey has begun - which means there is a serious gap in the market for straightforward sustainable alternatives to air travel.

Whilst the most environmentally sustainable option might be to stay put or go local, there are considerable socio-economic benefits to travelling – from supporting local economies and understanding different cultures to enhancing individual wellbeing. The best option is to take fewer journeys, go for longer, but also to get to places in the most low-carbon way.

In a sustainable future we will need to have a genuine choice about the way we travel, with realistic and desirable low-carbon alternatives to flying.

Forum for the Future's project Overland Heaven aims to make it easier to get to desirable places in a more low-carbon way.

The aims of the project are to:

• assess the carbon impacts of various forms of travel to establish the most sustainable modes and combinations of modes
• assess the market opportunity for overland travel
• map ways to get places in a low carbon way with clear information for the consumer
• bring together the key players in making low-carbon travel more successful, including train and bus operators, internet technologists, marketers and regulators. We are calling this the Overland Partnership (OP)
• identify, through OP, the difficulties and challenges in overland travel and find ways to resolve them – through influencing, facilitated dialogue etc.
• make overland travel a more accessible and attractive option be creating the market for lower carbon alternatives
• achieve increased numbers of people opting for low-carbon travel alternatives.
• ultimately the aim is to provide a way that people can choose the most low-carbon journey possible for their European visit.

If you would like to support this project, email Stephanie Draper: s.draper@forumforthefuture.org.uk.

For more details about Overland Heaven, click here.