'Greta effect' contributing to sustainable decisions from young travellers: survey
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'Greta effect' contributing to sustainable decisions from young travellers: survey
Data from research firm STR has revealed the importance of sustainable tourism as well as the impact of climate change on traveller perception.
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DepositphotosClimate change activist Greta Thunberg.
A new survey has revealed the role of sustainability in deciding the destinations of international travellers with less than half saying they wouldn’t visit a country they perceived to show insufficient efforts to fight climate change despite an overwhelming consensus that the issue is a global concern.
Conducted last month through research firm STR, the data captured the views of over 1,000 international travellers from STR’s proprietary Traveller Panel, a global community of engaged travelers.
Of those surveyed, 92 per cent of respondents said they were concerned about climate change, reinforcing the idea that sustainability is at the forefront of their destination selection and how they get there.
However, just over a third of panelists said wouldn’t visit a country they perceived to show insufficient efforts to fight climate change, with the remainder indicating that they would not be deterred or were undecided.
Source: STR
STR Research Director Sean Morgan said sustainable travel continued to be a hot topic in the tourism industry as travellers and travel brands alike increasingly scrutinised their impact on the environment.
“Our research examined how ‘eco’ friendly the modern traveller is and evaluated perceptions of the efforts made to implement greener and more sustainable practices in the tourism industry," he said.
Source: STR
"No doubt, at least in part, influenced by the 'Greta effect', Generation Z and millennial travelers had the strongest views when it came to ‘greener’ holidays as over 50 per cent stated that an environmentally-friendly holiday was personally important.
“However, there is a sense that the tourism industry lags behind the expectations of travellers as the majority considered accommodation providers and transport operators, such as airlines and train companies, to be making little or no effort to become more sustainable.”
Click here for further insights from the survey.
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