Sustainable Travel Report: All Trends, Tourism Approaches and Destination Statistics

We’re becoming more conscious.

More conscious about our actions and how these impact the world around us.

It’s influencing everything we do, including how we travel.

In fact, sustainable tourism is rapidly gaining momentum. Gone are the days when travel was just ticking off different destinations.

Today, more and more travellers are looking for ways to explore the world while keeping their carbon footprint at a minimum, and people are also much more conscious about whether their trips benefit local communities and environments as well.

The rise in sustainable tourism is also reflected in the destinations that people are visiting too, now prioritising places that have explicit conservation efforts and that support the local community.

Whether it be a remote village with only locally-owned businesses or a hotel that champions eco-friendly practices, travellers are looking beyond traditional holiday hotspots.

Why have we compiled this report?

And working within the travel industry ourselves, we know first-hand that tourism can truly drive positive change when done right.

This is the main reason we give all profits to charity as part of our 100% initiative, because we believe that everyone should play their part in supporting good causes.

It’s why we’ve created this report too, to shine a light on how others can make an impact on the world through travel as well, looking at sustainable travel trends, eco-friendly destinations and different types of sustainable tourism experiences.

Buckle up and get ready to be inspired.

What is Sustainable Travel?

Essentially, sustainable tourism aims to reduce the negative impact of travel on both the environment and local communities.

Otherwise known as responsible travel or ‘eco-tourism’, sustainable tourism can take many different forms including opting for carbon-free transport, booking sustainable accommodations, eating local and seasonal food, and avoiding travelling to overcrowded destinations.

But what type of sustainable travel, in particular, is shaping up to be the most popular?

Sustainable Tourism Trends

As we said above, sustainable tourism has become an increasing priority for many travellers in recent years, with this now being a big consideration for people when booking their holidays.

But what are the specific reasons for this influx?

• More than three-quarters of people want to make their holiday travel sustainable.
• 76% of travellers say they want to travel more sustainably over the coming 12 months.
• Over half (53%) say that recent news about climate change has influenced them to make more sustainable travel choices.
• 74% of travellers believe people need to act now and make more sustainable choices to save the planet for future generations.
• Over two-fifths (43%) of people would be willing to pay more for sustainable travel options.
• 74% of travellers want travel companies to offer more sustainable travel choices.
• 78% of travellers intend to stay in an eco-friendly or green accommodation in the next year.

What are the primary models of sustainable tourism?

Now we know why people want to travel more sustainably, so let’s take a look at how people are doing so.

These are the specific models of sustainable travel.

Environmentally Responsible Travel

It would be remiss of us not to mention that the tourism industry is responsible for almost one-tenth of global greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and environmentally responsible travel directly relates to minimising this negative impact of tourism activities.

This includes reducing carbon emissions, conserving natural resources, protecting biodiversity and minimising pollution and waste generation where possible.

Socially Responsible Travel

On the other hand, socially responsible travel relates to minimising the negative impact of tourism on communities and is where travellers seek to properly immerse themselves in the local culture of a destination.

This is typically done through local spending: whether that be staying in independent hotels, buying from shops or eating at restaurants.

Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is broader and refers to the balance of both present needs and those of future generations.

In a travel sense, it means aligning tourism activities with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which address challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss and resource consumption.

Basically, it means us still being able to travel as we please but doing so in a carbon-neutral way that doesn’t harm the planet for those who come after us.

What is Stopping People From Doing Sustainable Tourism?

However, there are some barriers preventing travellers from making more sustainable travel decisions, including price and awareness.

• Just over half (51%) of people think there are not enough sustainable travel options available.
• 49% believe more sustainable travel options are too expensive.
• The same percent also want discounts and economic incentives to opt for eco-friendly options.

But for those managing to overcome the barriers, what type of sustainable tourism are they engaging in?

Top Sustainable Travel Examples

Now that we’ve explained the concept of sustainable tourism and travellers’ interest, we thought it would be useful to outline some different examples of how people can travel more responsibly themselves. 

Agritourism

Agritourism is a type of tourism that involves visiting farms, plantations and gastronomic festivals. The focus is typically on preserving rural landscapes, supporting organic farming and promoting locally sourced food.

An example of agritourism would be booking a farm stay and then participating in wine marking and enjoying farm-to-table meals. 

And agritourism is clearly on the rise too, with Google searches for ‘farm stays near me’ having increased by 180% in the last 12 months worldwide.

Some examples of great agritourism destinations are vineyards in France and ranches in Montana. 

Slow Travel

This is a buzzword you’ve probably heard of in recent years, but you’re probably wondering what slow travel is exactly.

You wouldn’t be alone in thinking that either. Google searches for ‘what is slow travel’ have increased by 100% worldwide in the last 12 months.

Slow travel relates to spending longer in destinations and taking your time getting there too. It focuses on spending quality time in a place, rather than seeing multiple destinations in one trip, and taking the time to really immerse yourself in that place.

Alongside staying in one place, characteristics of slow travel often involved sustainable travel methods like buses and trains, eating local food in local businesses and longer stays.

Slow Travel Trends

• Almost all (94%) of American travellers want to experience slow travel in the future.
• Italy is the most popular destination for slow travel, followed by Spain and Germany.
• 90% of Americans prefer quieter destinations and would rather be in nature than shopping or beside the pool.
• Over four-fifths (85%) of travellers surveyed said they want to visit a place where they can truly experience the local culture.

Volunteering Tourism

Otherwise known as ‘voluntourism’, this type of sustainable travel blends volunteering and leisure tourism and typically involves travellers taking part in charitable projects while exploring new destinations, often in developing countries. This will often be done through activities such as teaching, building infrastructure and aiding conservation efforts. 

However, voluntourism can also become exploitative if not done properly, leading to poorly planned projects, mismanagement of funds or, in the worst case, vulnerable populations being exploited in order to attract volunteers and tourism.

When done correctly though, voluntourism can have incredibly positive benefits and some amazing voluntourism examples include Forest Conservation in Madagascar and this Learner Development Safari in Eastern Africa.

Voluntourism Trends

• Volunteering tourism caters for an estimated 10 million volunteers a year.
• The majority of voluntourism volunteers are aged under 25 or over 50.
• Women make up the large majority of voluntourism volunteers across most opportunities.
• The voluntourism industry equates to around £1.25 billion each year.

Sustainable Business Travel

Responsible tourism is also infiltrating the corporate travel industry as well, with sustainable business trips booming over the last few years.

In fact, over the last five years, there has been a 5000% increase in search engine searches for ‘sustainable business travel’. 

It involves adopting responsible travel practices when travelling for meetings or events where possible, such as choosing eco-friendly accommodation, opting for more sustainable transportation and trying to invest in carbon offsetting programmes.

Sustainable Business Travel Trends

• 44% percent of business travel managers expect to see a significant shift from air to rail.
• A further 19% expect to see a greater use of serviced apartments instead of hotels.
• Direct flights can reduce carbon emissions by up to 50% compared to flights with a connection.
• Flying in business class can have a carbon footprint up to three times larger than flying economy.

Sustainable Travel Statistics

Now we know what types of sustainable tourism are becoming increasingly popular, let’s look at what demographic of people are most interested in doing it.

Which Nationalities are Most Interested in Sustainable Tourism? 

So when it comes to making more conscious travel decisions, which nationalities are at the front of the pack?

The countries with the most searches for sustainable travel are:

1. USA
2. India
3. UK
4. France
5. Indonesia
6. Australia
7. Sweden
8. Italy
9. Canada
10. Germany

Which Generations are Most Interested in Sustainable Tourism? 

And what about different generations?

• 20% of millennials say they are putting greener choices first with air travel but 1% of baby boomers are doing the same.
• 17% of Gen Z are taking sustainability into account when flying, as are 10% of Gen Xers.
• 77% of travellers aged between 18-29 say that sustainability impacts their travel decisions, compared to 48% of travellers aged 51 and above.
• 54% of Gen Zers report that they’re willing to pay higher rates to use a travel service provider that demonstrates environmental responsibility, compared to 48% of millennials.

Most Sustainable Travel Destinations

And when it comes to travelling more consciously, some destinations around the world make it easier for travellers by having their own green practices in place. 

Looking at how dedicated countries are to preserving and restoring natural environments and resources as well as the health of their citizens, these are the most sustainable travel destinations: 

Global

1. Sweden
2. Denmark
3. United Kingdom
4. Finland
5. Switzerland
6. France
7. Costa Rica
8. Iceland
9. Norway
10. Ireland

Interestingly, all of the greenest countries in the world are in Europe other than Costa Rica, suggesting that the continent could be considered the most environmentally friendly!

Got something to say?

If you’re a sustainable travel company and want to learn more about how you can shout about your commitment and efforts, get in touch with us at hello@north9.agency.

Sources

https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/greenest-countries#top10countries
https://globalnews.booking.com/download/31767dc7-3d6a-4108-9900-ab5d11e0a808/booking.com-sustainable-travel-report2023.pdf
https://www.cntraveler.com/story/milennials-sustainable-air-travel
https://blog.pressreader.com/hotels/seven-gen-z-travel-trends-that-are-transforming-the-hospitality-industry
https://www.thethinkingtraveller.com/blog/where-in-the-world-are-the-most-ecoconscious-travellers
https://www.carlfriedrik.com/magazine/slow-travel-trend
https://www.flywire.com/resources/why-slow-travel-is-a-rising-star-in-the-travel-industry-and-may-prove-the-most-resilient
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/can-voluntourism-make-a-difference

About The Author...

Amelia Selby

PR | Impact | Partnerships

Amelia leads our PR activity – gaining links to top publications through creative campaigns, press releases, PR stunts, social media, newsjacking, and more. The country that has her heart is India – diverse scenery, incredible people and the food is to die for!