A Tui study suggests there is increasing demand for sustainable holidays and a desire to see responsible options more clearly identified. Ian Taylor reports
Consumer research for Tui suggests there is increasing demand for sustainable holidays, allied to a desire to see sustainable options more clearly identified and made more readily available.
The study in December, which surveyed more than 3,000 adult holidaymakers across six European markets, found 57% would book a more environmentally sustainable holiday if these were available.
This was 17 percentage points up on the response to the same question in a similar survey in December 2012.
The same study found the proportion of people who viewed holiday companies that invest in environmental and social initiatives as having a better image than those that don’t rose 14 points from 2012 to 53% in 2016.
There was also an eight-point increase to 68% in the proportion saying they are prepared to “make small changes in behaviour when on holiday” to benefit the environment.
The survey was conducted in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden and involved at least 500 adults who had flown on holiday in the past two years in each country.
Cutting food waste, separating waste for recycling and reducing energy use were the top-three ‘sustainable behaviours’ identified – selected by 75% or more respondents across all markets. Booking ‘an environmentallyfriendly holiday’ was identified by just one in 10, although the rate was almost double this in Germany and France.
However, 50% in the UK, 60% in Germany and 72% in France claimed they would book sustainable holidays if these were more readily available. More than half (55%) across the six markets said lack of availability and awareness were barriers to uptake at the moment.
A similar proportion, 51% in the UK and 52% across all markets, said they “see holiday brands that invest in sustainability more positively”. Two-thirds (66%) agreed companies have “a greater responsibility to make sustainable decisions than I do”.
Tui Group director of sustainable development Jane Ashton hailed the results as showing “a statistically significant shift” and said: “We’re delighted. Customers obviously value companies that put sustainable policies in place. People increasingly expect and value this. It encourages us to make sustainably-certified hotels much clearer when customers book. People expect companies, more than individuals themselves, to take responsibility.”
The survey suggests UK holidaymakers display a lower commitment to sustainable behaviours than those in France and Germany, but they still show increasing engagement “in a wide range” of areas. Three-quarters (75%) of UK respondents support recycling and re-use, almost half (46%) were keen to eat local food and 36% “energy conscious”.
Ashton said: “Germany has always been more environmentally aware. Tui Germany had an environmental department 27 years ago.” But she added: “Understanding in the UK has changed dramatically. Opinion has shifted and customers want clearer signposting.”
The results showed strong commitment in all markets to protecting animals and plants, with 83% of UK holidaymakers agreeing, and the same proportion in agreement on the importance of cutting carbon emissions.
When respondents were asked to rate in order of importance 10 ways hotels could act more sustainably, providing local food came out on top, followed by limiting food waste and supporting food banks, using renewable energy, and reducing water and energy use.
Ashton said: “Fresh local food and concern about food waste have come up the agenda. The thing people most want is local food.”
She suggested people increasingly care about the food they eat every day and said: “That is what they expect to see on holiday.”