Editor’s Picks: the stats you need to know
- Searches for “sustainable travel” have increased by 191% from 2020 to 2023.
- Traveling in business class has a bigger carbon footprint, since first-class seats consume four times as much as economy.
- The sustainable travel market in the business travel & tourism sector is expected to grow by $335.93 billion during 2023 - 2027.
- Globally, flights produced over 600 million tonnes of CO2 in 2022.
Sources: Google Trends, Greenbiz, Research and Markets, Statista Research
What is sustainable travel and tourism?
- reducing greenhouse gas emissions by choosing more sustainable transport options
- offsetting pollution and harm to biodiversity
- reducing the negative impact on cultural heritage
- positively impacting the local economy at your destination
“Travel that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities.”
UNWTO
30 travel statistics and trends that tell you everything about sustainable traveling
- In 2022, the sustainable international tourism industry worldwide was estimated at $172.4 billion and expected to grow to $374.2 billion by 2028.
- A global survey in 2020 showed that Gen Z (56%) and millennial (51%) travelers are the most concerned with sustainable travel. Gen X (49%) and Baby Boomers (46%) are the least concerned about it.
- 77% of travelers aged between 18-29 say that sustainability impacts their travel decisions, compared to 48% of travelers aged 51 and above.
- 76% of travelers surveyed in 2023 say they want to travel more sustainably over the next 12 months.
How and why do travelers approach sustainable traveling?
- 43% of travelers surveyed in Booking.com’s 2023 Sustainable Travel Report say they would be willing to pay more for more sustainable travel options.
- 69% of travelers want the money they spend when traveling to go back into the local economy.
- 59% of travelers will pay to offset their carbon emissions when they travel.
- 50% of travelers generally choose sustainable travel options because they care about the impact of their travels. Another 26% say sustainable travel options give them a better travel experience.
- Of all travelers, their sustainable travel concerns are divided like this:
- 46% are concerned about excess waste.
- 38% worry about threats to local wildlife and natural habitats.
- 30% care about overtourism.
- 29% want to reduce CO2 emissions.
What about sustainable accommodation?
- Hotel and other rental accommodation guests are willing to pay up to 75% more for an eco-friendly option.
- 73% of travelers are more likely to choose accommodation providers that advertise their sustainability practices.
- 65% of travelers would feel better about staying in a particular hotel or accommodation if they knew it had a sustainable certification or met certain sustainability requirements.
- 27% of travelers say they would like the choice to opt out of daily room cleaning in order to reduce water usage.
- 48% of travelers said the hardest part of traveling sustainably was choosing a sustainable accommodation option.
- 59% of travelers would like a filter option to make the decision of staying in sustainable accommodation easier.
- Research has found that the hotel industry would need to reduce its carbon emissions by 66% per room by 2030, and by 90% per room by 2050, to make sure that the growth forecasted for the industry does not cause an increase in its carbon emissions.
Who should be accountable for sustainable travel?
- Employees agree that corporations need to take responsibility for making corporate travel more sustainable.
- 51% of travelers feel there aren’t enough sustainable travel options available.
- 48% of travelers say it’s important to them to choose travel companies that have strong sustainability policies.
What stops travelers from traveling sustainably?
- By 2023, the following are the reasons that people say impede them from traveling more greenly:
- “There aren’t enough sustainable travel options available.” (51%)
- “I want economic incentives to choose more sustainable options.” (49%)
- “I don’t know where to find such options.” (44%)
- “I don’t trust that the options I find are truly sustainable.” (39%)
- In addition, 53% of travelers said that sustainable travel options are too expensive.
How do business travelers care about sustainability?
- In a 2021 survey, respondents claimed that their companies had changed their overall carbon reduction targets–those include traveling–in the following ways:
- 36% increased their environmentally friendly commitments
- 20% didn’t have reduction targets but have now start considering them
- 15% kept the same commitments they had
- 15% didn’t have targets, and don’t expect to implement new ones
- 12% are unsure of their companies’ targets
- 2% decreased the commitments they had
- At corporations with sustainability programs, 92% of executives report that sustainability investment is already increasing.
- 44% of corporate travel managers in North America said that travel sustainability was an increased priority for them in 2023 and beyond.
- Business travelers are thinking sustainably as well. In a 2022 survey, 53% of business travelers said they made a conscious effort to adopt more sustainable travel habits during their trips.
- According to a 2023 survey, 19% of corporate organizations had changed travel policies to reduce carbon emissions goals, and 35% of companies were reducing future business travel for sustainability reasons.
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