Tourism is one of the world’s fastest-growing industries and sustainable travel refers to maintaining long-term tourism without harming natural and cultural environments. Many might want to support sustainable tourism if they are asked but is this also the case when the wanderlust occurs, and the yearly holiday planning is at hand?
Environmental concerns and sustainability
When asked about to what extent environmental concerns and sustainability are of importance when traveling, the data reveals that 36.9% of the European travelers think that it is important for them when traveling. When comparing the European countries, it is also evident that Spanish travelers are those most concerned with this issue, as a total of 49,3 % of Spanish respondents think that environmental concerns and sustainability are important, when choosing their holiday destinations. German travelers score the second highest with 40,1 % followed by Swedish travelers at 39,5%. The lowest scoring travelers, when it comes to environmental concerns and sustainability are the Norwegian with 21,3%, Danish with 24,4%, and the Dutch with 27,5% stating that this is important for them when choosing their holiday destination.
Climate compensated options
The survey also asked to what extent climate compensated or low carbon emission options at hotels and flights are of importance. The collected data reveals that 32,5% of all European travelers think that this is important. When comparing the European travelers, also here the Spanish score high with no less than 57,8% stating this is important, but surprisingly the highest-scoring travelers are the Dutch travelers with 59,6%. This suggests that Dutch travelers are more interested in concrete sustainable initiatives compared to a general understanding of environmental and sustainability concerns. The lowest scoring travelers, when it comes to climate compensated or low carbon emission options, are the Danish travelers with a score of 17,7%. This means that the difference between the highest scoring country, the Netherlands, and the lowest-scoring, Denmark, is 41,9%, clearly revealing that although close in proximity and culture, travelers from different countries within Europe can have very different preferences and likings when it comes to choosing their next holiday destination.
These and many additional interesting facts have been sourced from Travellyze. To learn more about Travellyze, please contact Henrik Koch at hek@travellyze.com.