Booking.com’s 2024 Sustainable Travel Report explored the latest consumer attitudes, priorities and influences related to sustainable travel, revealing that while travellers aim to travel more sustainably, they continue to face certain challenges.
Gathering insights from more than 31,000 travellers across 34 countries and territories, the annual research revealed a continued sense of desire and awareness. However, new insights show a sense of weariness could be emerging globally, fuelled by the ongoing issues that travellers experience to make more sustainable travel choices.
The recent study showed that while travellers feel travelling more sustainably is important, it was not a primary consideration when planning or booking a trip. Travellers are tired of hearing about climate change all the time – thus the opportunity for collective action is more pertinent than ever, in order to ensure that progress toward a more sustainable travel industry remains a priority.
Positive intentions meeting new challenges
Looking ahead, travellers say that they want to travel more sustainably over the next 12 months, and would feel guilty when they make less sustainable travel choices.
However, a sense of disillusion towards making more sustainable travel choices may be counteracting these positive intentions. New areas of exploration researched for the first time this year revealed that some travellers do not recognise the importance of being more mindful of their impact, as nearly half (42%) feel that the damage already done is irreversible and that the travel choices they make are not going to change that.
There is even the thought that climate change is not as severe as people make it out to be – a dismissal of the issue which may well be impacting travel plans.
Moreover, some feel their time spent travelling is too precious to put sustainability at the top of their decision-making list (37%). Not seeing sustainability in action is also contributing to the sense of powerlessness, for instance, being more sustainable in a destination that is not implementing sustainability practices itself feels pointless.
Shared responsibility and the critical opportunity for industry-wide enablement
The role travellers feel they can play in tackling the negative impacts of travel also highlights their expectations around collaboration. Travellers say they want to leave the places they visit better than when they arrived, and this year’s additional research shows 48% think governments hold the most potential for countering the economic effects, and 44% believe travel service providers hold the key to addressing environmental factors.
Responsibilities extend to how consumers are being supported to fulfil their intentions. Coming across an accommodation labelled as more sustainable is more appealing, and consistency of certification standards is critical to identifying these options with 69% agreeing that all travel booking sites should use the same sustainable certifications or labels.
Sustainable silver linings
Despite the emerging frustrations, travellers are making more mindful choices and feel that more sustainable travel experiences are actually adding value to their trips. New areas of research in this year’s report found that more travellers recognise that they are the best version of themselves when they travel more sustainably and consequently take home this positivity, becoming more sustainable in their everyday life. This includes travellers who did tours or activities for authentic, local, and cultural experiences, shopped at small, independent stores, and who planned their trips so that they could walk, bike, or take public transport.
“While many travellers have retained a sense of optimism and a desire to have a more positive impact, there is a critical opportunity for the industry to accelerate efforts to make those choices easier for everyone,” said Danielle D’Silva, head of sustainability at Booking.com.
“It’s important that we continue ensuring that more sustainable options are not only readily available, but also easy to trust and understand. That’s where we believe further education, clear and consistent standards and credible third-party certification of legitimate sustainable practices across the travel experience can really help. While the signals of consumer frustration should be a concern, it’s also a reminder to maintain our focus on the impactful work we know can make a difference not only for travellers but for communities and destinations everywhere.”
Booking.com’s full 2024 Sustainable Travel Report can be viewed here.
