The importance of sustainability in travel decisions has remained stagnant since 2021, according to a recent report based on data from Reiseanalyse 2024.
For holidays of five days or more, sustainability was a key factor for 3% of travellers in 2023, while for a further 17% it was one aspect among others.
In the case of short holidays, sustainability was a decisive factor (14%) and also an important aspect (29%) much more common, as Friedericke Kuhn from Urlaub und Reisen, which publishes the travel analysis, reports. This also applies in a similar way to overnight business trips, with sustainability being a deciding factor for 12% and an important factor for 28% of travellers.
The percentage of the population with a positive attitude towards sustainability (“environmental” or “social”) when travelling on holiday reached 68% at the beginning of 2022. This percentage decreased to 61% of the population in January 2023 and increased again in January 2024 (67%).
Large discrepancy between attitude and behaviour
The marked disparity between the expressed attitude towards sustainability and its influence on actual travel behaviour reveals a gap, the so-called intention-behaviour gap. From a demand perspective, sustainability remains a de facto secondary issue.
This is also evident when it comes to carbon offsetting. The share of holiday trips of five or more days for which carbon offsetting was carried out was 5% in both 2022 and 2023, four percentage points below the previous year’s share. Meanwhile, the percentage of bookings of environmentally certified package deals fell by two percentage points to 11% over this period.
For short interruptions of two to four days, the CO2 offset rate in 2023 was 16%, about the same as the previous year (17% in 2022). The percentage of sustainably certified offers in 2023 was 22%, the same as in the previous two years. For business travel, the CO2 offset rate remained stable at 18%, while the percentage of eco-labelled business travel decreased by four percentage points to 28%.
Improvement compared to 2018/19
However, compared to the first measurement in 2018/19, the percentage of CO2 offset and eco-labelled trips is significantly higher across all travel segments. According to the authors, the overall level for both indicators has fluctuated slightly, but remained stable from 2021/22 to 2023/24.
