The UN Climate Change Conference has helped shine a light on how travellers can do their part to build a greener, more sustainable future. But research by hotel booking platform, hoo, has revealed that three-quarters of us fail to consider our carbon footprint when it comes to booking holidays.
Worldwide carbon dioxide emissions from tourism-related transport are expected to increase by 25.1% to 1,888 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year by 2030. But with more travellers focussing on how we impact the planet and what can be done to reduce this impact, greener holidays are becoming increasingly more preferable to holidaymakers.
The good news is that the amount of carbon dioxide produced by UK travel agencies and tour operators sat at 2.08 kg per capita prior to the pandemic (2019) – down -2.6% year on year and a step in the right direction, at the very least. But hoo’s research found that it still doesn’t register as a consideration for many of Brits when booking a holiday. In fact, 74% of people asked by hoo said they don’t consider their carbon footprint when booking a holiday.
However, hoo’s research also suggests that a little more awareness of this issue during the booking process could help increase the number of travellers looking to reduce carbon footprint.
44% stated they would actually pay more for a greener flight that produced fewer carbon emissions. 44% also stated that they would travel from a different or less convenient airport in order to take a greener flight that produced lower carbon emissions. Finally, 40% would be happy to travel on different or less convenient dates to those they had initially planned to travel on, in order to take a greener flight that produced lower carbon emissions.
hoo Co-founder, Adrian Murdock, commented: “It’s not unusual for those in the public eye to come under fire for travelling by plane. But there are more carbon-friendly options when looking to book our holidays. If we can’t travel by car or by boat, then opting for a flight with a lower carbon footprint is one way to make a small difference and it’s these small changes that will help lower our own impact on the environment. Perhaps not surprisingly, the majority of us fail to consider our carbon footprint when booking a holiday but there certainly seems to be a growing appetite to decrease carbon emissions when travelling.”
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