Going to the local department store, garden centre or a Christmas bazaar to meet Santa in his grotto used to be a Christmas highlight for most young children. But it seems that this is no longer enough for many parents. Only a 3,000-mile round trip to a snowy Lapland, complete with reindeer sleigh ride to meet the bearded man in a snow covered log cabin will do. And these trips are now firmly in the sights of environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth (FOE).
Next month a travel company will fly children and parents from Cardiff Airport for day trips and short-breaks in Finland. These trips range from £819 per adult and £360 per child for a 2 night break that includes rides on husky and reindeer sleds and a meeting with Santa in his secret log cabin, to day trips where families will enjoy about 4½ hours in Lapland at a cost of £399 per adult and £379 per child. 5 night packages are also available, and the trips are so popular, one day trip from has sold out already, while another had just 3 seats left.
However, not everyone is delighted by the idea of flying for 3½ each way to see Santa in his natural habitat. Friends of the Earth Cymru says flying such long distances to see a white Christmas accelerates global warming, meaning future generations of children may never actually seem one in Wales.
They add that the trips will create about 680 kg per person of CO2. Allowing for the increased effect of a plane's emissions at high altitude, this could be equivalent to about 1800 kg of CO2 emissions at ground level, which is roughly equivalent to driving about 8,500 miles in a Ford Focus.
Gordon James, director of FoE Cymru said it is ironic that trips designed to please children could contribute to a 'worrying future' for all of the children around the world, adding that: 'It's symptomatic of the extravagant lifestyles that are fuelling climate change.'
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