Majority of Brits care about travelling sustainably

Eighty-five per cent of holidaymakers in the UK say they care about travelling sustainably and are willing to make adjustments to achieve this, according to research from InsureandGo.

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, the travel industry generates between eight and 11 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, with the majority coming from transportation.

The findings showed that nearly half of travellers (46 per cent) were already making changes to travel in a more climate-friendly way. A further quarter said they were keen to make changes but were lacking sufficient knowledge on how. Nineteen per cent said they wanted to make changes, but are currently more focused on other concerns, such as the cost of living crisis.

The nationally representative research of 2,000 holidaymakers asked respondents about their approach to supporting the climate emergency when it came to booking and enjoying overseas holidays. It found that more than one in eight adults (13 per cent) said that sustainability was their top priority, forming the foundation of their holiday plans or decisions.

Among younger people (aged under 25), the proportion that were already making adjustments in order to travel in a more climate-friendly way rose to 51 per cent, with almost a fifth (19 per cent) of this group saying that travelling sustainably was their top priority, forming the foundation of their holiday plans.

Regional variety

Comparing the results by region, the West Midlands was the most engaged region in terms of responsible travel. Respondents in this area were the least likely to say they did not care about responsible travel and the most likely to have taken positive action on their own holidays (55 per cent). Of those that had, over a third said that sustainability is at the top of their agenda when booking a holiday.

However, people in Yorkshire and the Humber were the least engaged, with respondents in this area the most likely to say they did not care about travelling sustainably (18 per cent), and the least likely to say sustainability was the foundation of their holiday plans.

Gender divide

It is not just a regional divide, but there is also a gender divide too. While the proportion who were making adjustments to their holidays to be more sustainable was broadly similar among men (46 per cent) and women (44 per cent), the reasons among those who were not doing more varied considerably.

Female respondents were more likely to say they did not know enough, and that they found it hard to incorporate sustainability into their travel plans as they did not know where to start (23 per cent versus 20 per cent); or were distracted by other concerns (22 per cent versus 15 per cent) such as the cost of living crisis which limited their ability to incorporate sustainability into their holiday plans.

However, men were almost twice as likely to say they simply did not care about travelling sustainably and did not make any attempt to adjust their holidays plans in order to travel more sustainably – 19 per cent versus 10 per cent.

Chris Rolland, CEO at InsureandGo Travel Insurance said: “Sustainable, green, and responsible ways to explore the world are becoming more popular than ever. Demand for planet-friendly holidays is fast becoming a mainstream trend and these figures underline the strength of sentiment among most people.

“With such high levels of goodwill, the task in hand now is to point people in the right direction, showing them how to make better decisions and providing them with information they need. The balancing act between the huge positives of travel while reducing the negatives is a pressing matter that affects the long term future of the industry, and the planet as a whole.”