These were among the headline findings from new Global Media & Entertainment Group survey data, presented at Abta’s Delivering Sustainable Travel Conference on Wednesday (2 March).
The group’s research highlighted how sustainability is becoming an increasingly common consideration for travellers, and how travel businesses cannot afford not to leverage it as a selling tool.
Sarah Wordsworth, Global’s senior commercial insight executive, and Carla Madden, senior commercial insight manager, revealed one in five consumers’ first thought when booking a holiday was sustainability. “If you’re a travel brand, you need to be getting involved in the conversation early on," Madden told delegates.
The duo highlighted three key trends, starting with responsible tourism. Global’s survey data showed 64% of consumers polled now rated sustainability as being important when booking their travel; a quarter of respondents said they would choose accommodation certified for its sustainability efforts, while 22% said they would look out for this in future.
A further quarter, meanwhile, said they looked specifically at eco-friendly destinations when booking, with more than half (55%) stating they planned to start doing this for their next trips.
Wordsworth and Madden revealed the data showed similar trends around flights, with one in five respondents claiming to have chosen a greener flight option when using Skyscanner, and more than half saying they would do this in future.
The duo said the second trend Global had observed was "impact awakening", with consumers becoming increasingly conscious of the impact their travel has on destinations and communities – and increasingly keen to minimise any negative effects. Staycations were flagged as a case in point, with nearly half of respondents highlighting their impact.
Conscious efforts to reduce this include shopping locally and buying locally-sourced products, with three in five respondents stating they do support local businesses when travelling.
Wordsworth said the final trend was regenerative travel, whereby consumers were actively seeking to heal or undo the negative effects of their travel.
Global’s research also showed sustainable travel brands held up to more reputable brands when it came to consumers making bookings, with the split falling 49% to 51%.
Madden, though, qualified the findings, with the research having been done during the pandemic when consumer concerns about sustainability issues was heightened.
She said brands needed to act on the findings by making sustainability part of their messaging, and by demystifying the topic. This could be achieved, she said, by sign-posting greener options by – for instance – adding a green tick or recycling symbol to listings.
Additionally, Madden highlighted how consumers were becoming increasingly wise to "greenwashing", and said brands that offered helpful and, crucially, truthful information on sustainability would prosper.
