More travellers are seeking out greener stays while showing a willingness to pay more to ensure they are travelling sustainably, according to recent findings from Booking.com‘s Sustainable Travel Report.
The report indicates that the green travel trend continues to gain momentum with a large majority of global travellers (87%) stating that they want to travel sustainably, and nearly four in 10 (39%) confirming that they often or always manage to do so.
However, 48% indicate they never, rarely or only sometimes manage to travel sustainably, suggesting that while promising strides are being made for a greener future, there is still plenty of room to turn intentions into action.
For almost half of the travellers surveyed (46%), sustainable travel means staying in eco-friendly or green accommodations, topping the list of what people think of when hearing the term. The top reasons travellers give for choosing these eco-friendly accommodations are to help reduce environmental impact (40%), to have a locally relevant experience (34%) and wanting to feel good about an accommodation choice (33%).
Looking ahead, more than two-thirds (68%) of travellers intend to stay in an eco-accommodation in 2018, up from 65% in 2017 and 62% in 2016. Additionally, the percentage of travellers who have not considered eco-friendly stays because they were unaware of their existence continues to decline, resting at 31% this year, compared to 39% and 38% in 2017 and 2016 respectively.
When it comes to what inspires people to travel more sustainably, travel itself is the biggest motivator. Six in 10 travellers indicated that they found the impressive natural sights visited on past travels as their inspiration to travel more sustainably, while more than half (54%) said seeing the visible impact that tourism can have on destinations serves as their inspiration.
While perceived extra cost remains the top barrier for travellers wanting to travel more sustainably, two thirds (67%) of travellers would be willing to spend at least five per cent more on their travel to ensure it was as low impact on the environment as possible. Indian travellers claim to be the most willing, with nearly a third (32%) declaring that they would pay 15% or more, followed by Brazilians (21%) and Chinese (18%).
The research also indicates that a lack of information and a lack of credible certification poses a significant obstacle to sustainable travel (32%), particularly in India, China and Japan where travellers cited this as even more of a barrier than extra cost.
As sustainable travel intentions grow, travellers are still looking for ways to more easily fulfil these ambitions. Some 40% said that online booking sites offering a sustainable or eco-friendly filter option would help, while 32% continue to call for an international standard for identifying eco-friendly accommodations.
The full report can be viewed here.
