Last month, Cop26 put sustainability – and most notably the climate crisis – in the spotlight, while Abta’s Decarbonising Tourism webinar pressed home the message that it is no longer sufficient for the industry to simply campaign on or advocate climate issues, it must commit to “robust” strategies to ensure genuine change.

Nearly 100 agents gave their views via a sustainability-themed edition of TTG Media’s fortnightly Travel Agent Tracker survey, in which just 19% of respondents said they felt travel was doing enough.

Some 46% of respondents said the onus was on government to act, although nearly a third (30%) stated it should be up to individual businesses and suppliers – operators, airlines, cruise lines and accommodation providers – to drive change. Less than 10% believe trade bodies like Abta and Clia should be primarily responsible for this.

Agents also revealed how important sustainability was to their clients, with nearly half (47%) stating it was “somewhat important”, up from 40% when TTG asked the same question at the end of September; around a quarter (23%) said it was “not so important” to their clients; and 9% said it was “extremely important” to their clients.

One agent said they were trying to convince customers to consider sustainability issues when booking a trip to ensure travel “gives back and doesn’t just take”. “I love to support and promote companies who have great ethical standards on sustainability and look to how they can give something back to the places they take groups to,” they said.

Around a quarter (23%) of those surveyed said they are having more conversations with their clients about sustainability now than they did three years ago, with almost a third (29%) reporting the same level of conversation on the topic as three years ago.

The most common topic raised by clients is climate change (22%), followed by plastic waste (17%) and supporting local communities (15%), with carbon emissions, animal welfare and conservation all coming in at 14%.

One respondent said they had shifted their focus to promoting “longer trips” and holidays with alternative transport “where realistic”. “I want to find a suitable carbon offset option, as I am not sure this is being dealt with at a higher level,” they said. “I have already stopped working with suppliers that feature unethical animal interactions, and firmly discourage clients from riding elephants or swimming with dolphins, for example,” they added.

However, the majority of respondents (96%) said they hadn’t yet stopped working with a specific supplier or business due to a sustainability issue or concern.

The findings come after the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow made sustainability front-page news. The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, launched during the conference, was signed by more than 300 of the biggest names in travel, committing them to cutting emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving net-zero carbon by 2050. Signatories included the WTTC, Intrepid Travel, Iberostar, and Aito’s office and HQ team.

WTTC chief executive Julia Simpson described the declaration as an “important collective call for heightened ambition in the travel and tourism sector”.

On the penultimate day of Cop26, Abta hosted a Decarbonising Tourism webinar, where travel firms were warned that it would soon no longer be sufficient to simply campaign on issues of sustainability, and that having a “robust” sustainability strategy would quickly become a necessity.

Sustainable Aviation’s Andy Jefferson told delegates the aviation sector was “fully committed” to achieving net-zero by 2050, but warned of the challenges that lie ahead with new technologies such as hydrogen and electric power some 10 years away from “major” scale-up.

He also said delivering sustainable solutions for travel and aviation would require extensive collaboration between the industry, governments, the private sector, innovators and academics.