Over 1500 people in Europe’s key travel markets answered our “Are you eco-friendly?” survey, and the results show that ecotourism is again a leading concern for travellers when considering what to book and whilst on holiday.
When asked if they cared about the impact of their travels on the environment over 89% of participants said yes, whilst a further 69% admitted that they would be willing to spend more on their travels to benefit from eco-friendly services.
The results obtained clearly show that travellers are now willing to consider the environmental impact of their travel despite the additional cost when looking at holiday options. Having said that, it looks like more women (69%) than men (31%) between the ages of 19-30 and 31-45 seem to be interested in ecotourism.
When asked to define exactly what ecotourism means to them more than 60% of respondents agreed that it was respecting the environment and nature; however, in terms of identifying ecotourism habits to include in their holiday, differing views emerged. Out of the four countries included in the study (UK, France, Germany and Italy), only the French with 48% agreed that they would consider looking for and booking eco-friendly accommodation. In contrast, just 5.8% of respondents from the UK said that eco-friendly accommodation is important to them.
Whilst using sustainable or carbon neutral transportation on holiday seemed to be the option that more Brits and Germans agreed they would do with 26% and 18% respectively, only 8% of the French and Italians surveyed agreed with this idea.
Other eco-friendly habits that Europeans try to incorporate on their holiday include saving energy by turning off the lights and air-conditioning, as well as not requesting a change of bedding and towels everyday.
What about you? How eco-friendly are you when you travel?
