With the global sustainable tourism market estimated at more than two trillion USD in 2023, the scale of opportunities is hard to underestimate. The latest sustainable travel data from Booking.com shows that 45% of people feel that traveling more sustainability is important to them – but the study admits that it is not their primary consideration when booking a holiday.
It's clear that for many, the primary goal of a holiday is to carve out some personal time and indulge in a bit of self-care. However, this presents a dilemma for the tourism industry. So who should lead the change? what about the costs?, and how can we balance personal with collective responsibilities?
At the risk of stating the obvious and sounding a little naive, sustainability is a shared duty. According to respondents of the aforementioned survey, the top three candidates with the most potential to counteract the environmental impacts of travel are travel service providers, the government, and themselves.