The results of a study by the Tourism Market Insights team of STR showed the importance of sustainable tourism and the effect on traveler perception of climate change.
The survey was carried out during January 2020 and gathered views from STR’s own Traveler Committee, a global community of dedicated travelers, on over 1000 international travelers.
STR’s Director of Research Sean Morgan said: “Sustainable travel remains a hot topic in the tourism industry as both travelers and travel brands are constantly tracking their effect on the environment. Needless, at least to a large extent affected by the’ Greta effect,’ the Z and Millennial travelers had their strongest opinions when it came to’ greener.’ More than 50 per cent said that an ‘environmentally friendly’ perspective was taken from our research and assessed efforts for the adoption of greener and more sustainable practices in the tourism industry. ”
Key findings include:
- 48% said it would be necessary to choose an eco-friendly holiday alternative, while 40% opted for a neutral position.
- 35% of travelers said they don’t want to visit a country that hasn’t managed to fight climate change, 32% said they won’t be dismissed and 33% undecided.
- In general, about 70 percent assumed that the tourist providers had little or no initiative. Moreover, in the contrast to other primary travel and tourism sectors hotel / hospitality providers were least viewed.
“The vast majority of travelers (92%) were concerned about climate change and stressed its broad impact and ability for the industry to reinvent itself,” Morgan said. “Nevertheless, there is the impression that the turism sector lies behind passengers ‘ aspirations, as most of the tourism companies find that they make little and no attempt to become more competitive, such as airlines and train companies.”
