New York City,
17
April
2018
|
22:09 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

Booking.com Reveals Where Sustainable Travel is Headed in 2018

Research conducted by Booking.com reveals that awareness of eco-friendly accommodation options is growing, with global travelers seeking to book more of these greener stays than ever, while showing a willingness to absorb extra costs to ensure they are tra

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – April 17, 2018 – To celebrate Earth Day on April 22, Booking.com, the global leader in connecting travelers with the widest choice of incredible places to stay, has released the findings from its most recent global Sustainable Travel Report.

The report indicates that the green travel trend continues to gain momentum with a large majority of American travelers (78%) stating that they want to travel sustainably, and nearly four in 10 (35%) confirming that they often or always manage to do so. However, 43% indicate they never, rarely or only sometimes manage to travel sustainably, suggesting that while promising strides are being made for a greener future, there is still plenty of room to turn intentions into action.

Sustainability starts where you stay

‘Sustainable travel’ is a subjective term that has different connotations for different people. However, for many travelers, ‘sustainable travel’ means staying in eco-friendly or green accommodations, topping the list of what people think of when hearing the term. The top reasons travelers give for choosing these eco-friendly places to rest their heads are to help reduce environmental impact (28%), to have a locally relevant experience (25%) and wanting to feel good about an accommodation choice (26%).**

The percentage of travelers who have not considered eco-friendly stays because they were unaware of their existence continues to decline, resting at 32% this year, compared to 41% and 38% in 2017 and 2016 respectively.***

Eco-inspiration

When it comes to what inspires people to travel more sustainably, it seems that travel itself is the biggest motivator. Six in ten (55%) travelers indicated that they found the impressive natural sights visited on past travels as their inspiration to travel more sustainably, while more than half (43%) said seeing the visible impact that tourism can have on destinations serves as their inspiration.

The factors that inspire sustainable travel

% American travelers who found this inspiring

Being impressed by natural sights during their own travels (e.g. coral reefs, rain forest)

55%

Noticing a visible impact of tourism at the destinations they have visited

43%

Seeing the positive effect that sustainable tourism can have on the local people

40%

Seeing the unsustainable effects of tourism in their home country

36%

Feeling guilty about the impact their vacation has had on the environment

28%

Overcoming eco-barriers

While perceived extra cost remains the top barrier for travelers wanting to travel more sustainably, two thirds (60%) of travelers would be willing to spend at least 5% more on their travel to ensure it was as low impact on the environment as possible. 

The research also indicates that a lack of information and a lack of credible certification poses a significant obstacle to sustainable travel (27%).

Top American obstacles to traveling more sustainably

Costs – not being able to afford the extra expenditure

46%

Information / lack of certification – not knowing how to make my travel more sustainable

27%

Time – traveling sustainably would be too time consuming

21%

Destination – traveling sustainably would limit travel to less appealing destinations

18%

Luxury / comfort – sustainable travel does not meet the level of luxury / comfort accustomed to

19%

As sustainable travel intentions grow, travelers are still looking for ways to more easily fulfil these ambitions. 38% said that online booking sites offering a sustainable or eco-friendly filter option would help, while 21% continue to call for an international standard for identifying eco-friendly accommodations.

As part of its commitment to improving ways to uncover and share the sustainability efforts of its own accommodation partners, Booking.com is partnering with organizations like Green Key, an internationally recognized eco-label with strict award criteria that honors positive environmental management, to highlight Green Key awarded properties as 'sustainable' on its site.

It’s good to go green

Proving too that sustainability measures don’t need to come at an inconvenience, many American travelers indicated they engage in sustainable travel behavior because the activity itself adds a positive vacation experience to their trip.

Sustainable vacation activities that add to vacation enjoyment

Percentage of American travelers who do this

Buying locally made products instead of mass-produced tourist souvenirs

45%

Being adventurous and using public transport instead of a taxi

32%

Going out of the way to find a local restaurant that only uses local ingredients

29%

Skipping tourist highlights in favor of less busy and often more rewarding sights

37%

Opting for a unique place to stay that also a certified eco-accommodation over a traditional hotel

26%

"As travelers increasingly look to explore and experience the world in a sustainable way, we continue to look at ways that we can help make it even easier for them to do that, whether by highlighting eco-friendly properties or enabling people to filter their search results on Booking.com based on proximity to an electric vehicle charging station," says Pepijn Rijvers, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Booking.com. "Meaningful change can only come about through collaboration on multiple fronts throughout the entire sustainable tourism ecosystem. That’s why we also look to foster innovation in the sustainable tourism space through our Booking Booster initiatives to fund and support remarkable startups and change makers in this area. Today’s research reaffirms that sustainable travel is within reach for all of us, which is encouraging as we together strive to make a positive impact for a more sustainable future."

Boilerplate

CONTACT DETAILS

For further information, contact the Booking.com US Press Office;

bookingUS@hs-pr.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

*Research commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among a sample of adults who have taken a trip in the last 12 months/plan to take a trip in the next 12 months. In total 12,134 respondents were surveyed across 12 markets (1000+ from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the US). Respondents completed an online survey in February and March 2018.

**These percentages pertain to the 4,768 respondents who actually stayed in eco-friendly accommodation at least once in 2017.

***This is the third year in which the Booking.com Sustainable Travel survey has been held. While the methodology and a set of core questions has remained the same, some additional questions were added and the sample has expanded over the years. For the 2017 edition, 11,069 respondents were surveyed (1000+ from the above countries except India, which was first added in 2018). For the 2016 edition, a total 10,025 respondents were surveyed (1000+ from the above countries except Spain, France and India, but including New Zealand.)

About Booking.com

Established in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com B.V. has grown from a small Dutch start-up to one of the largest travel e-commerce companies in the world. Part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.com now employs more than 17,000 employees in 198 offices in 70 countries worldwide.

With a mission to empower people to experience the world, Booking.com invests in digital technology that helps take the friction out of travel. At Booking.com, we connect travelers with the world’s largest selection of incredible places to stay, including everything from apartments, vacation homes, and family-run B&Bs to 5-star luxury resorts, tree houses and even igloos. The Booking.com website and mobile apps are available in 43 languages, offer over 27 million total reported listings and cover more than 130,000 destinations in 227 countries and territories worldwide.

Each day, more than 1.5 million room nights are reserved on our platform. So whether traveling for business or leisure, customers can instantly book their ideal place to stay quickly and easily with Booking.com, without booking fees and backed up by our promise to price match. Via our customer experience team, customers can reach Booking.com 24/7 for assistance and support in 43 languages, any time of the day or night.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, like us on Facebook, and for the latest news, data and insights, please visit our global media room.