Over half of travel agent green claims ‘likely to break advertising rules’

The vast majority of travel agents are not making green claims but a “significant proportion” of those who are appear to be getting it wrong, the advertising watchdog disclosed today.

 

The Advertising Standards Authority found that the majority of agents (99%) are not making environmental claims in their adverts. 

 

Of those who did, more than half (56%) appeared “likely to break the rules”, according to a report into environmental claims in travel agents’ adverts.

 

Of the 362,000 adverts monitored, just 319 featured green claims. Of those, 213 ads from 23 advertisers (67%) appeared likely to break the rules, “often due to vague, broad or unsupported claims”.

 

The results emerged from the ASA’s AI-based active ad monitoring system to scan and review online ads in the travel sector to check they are “sticking to the rules”. 

 

The report examined environmental claims in online, paid-for ads, from major UK travel agents between August 2024 and June 2025.

 

The monitoring assessed how well these adverts, which appeared on social media, in paid search results, and paid ads on websites, stuck to the advertising rules on environmental claims.

 

The ASA said: “With people increasingly focussed on how environmentally friendly the products or services they’re buying are, ensuring that sustainability claims are clear and accurate is essential to ensure people are not misled - especially in higher emission sectors like travel.”

 

An ASA spokesperson said: “We looked at major companies that help people search and book flights, hotels, cruises, holiday transport and package deals. 

 

“And our focus was on agents who offer general, cruise and rail travel services.”

 

According to the ASA, problematic claims included:  

• Absolute terms such as “eco-friendly” or “green”   
• Claims that lacked essential context or evidence 
• Comparative claims such as “greener way to travel” and “less carbon than flying”  
• Environmental claims embedded in product names, such as “eco resort” and “eco lodge”  
• Broad terms such as “carbon conscious”  

The spokesperson added: “We want to see a real improvement in this area. We’ll keep actively monitoring ads in the sector and will take action where the rules are broken.”  

 

They said: “Where we spotted potentially problematic claims, we provided advice and guidance to advertisers and took formal action where needed.” 

 

This included rulings against Wizz Air that claimed to be one of the “greenest” choices in air travel; Barrhead Travel for not holding evidence to support claims about “sustainability” and “eco-friendly practices” made by Celebrity Cruises; and OTA eDreams online display adverts that made claims about “sustainable” destinations and trips.

 

The ASA report concluded: “Informative and accurate environmental claims help consumers make better, more responsible choices. 

 

“They also highlight the steps organisations are taking to reduce their impact, an important part of moving toward a low-carbon future. 

 

"At the present time, very few travel agent ads make environmental claims, suggesting a missed opportunity and potential advertiser uncertainty about how to go about making green claims. 

 

“Of those that do make environmental claims, a large proportion risk misleading people. Overall, the picture we found demonstrates the need for continued regulatory action to educate the industry and protect consumers, and that is what we will be focussing on.”

 

The ASA noted: ”Many businesses are taking steps to reduce their environmental impact and want to tell customers about that. Our role is to help them do that in a way that is clear, accurate and supported by evidence. 

 

“We are encouraging travel agents interested in making environmental claims to consult our guidance, advice and training.”