Each year MMGY surveys travelers to gain insight into their attitudes toward sustainable travel, including practices that can reduce the carbon footprint of their journeys. And while many of these questions are targeted at how willing respondents are to adjust their behavior and spending to support regenerative travel, we also track consumer sentiment around destinations and sustainability efforts. Over the years, we’ve seen some consistent trends rise to the top of respondents’ lists of travel concerns, and they offer some valuable insights to marketers and DMOs alike.
Overtourism
With 60% of travelers now factoring in tourism overcrowding when choosing their destinations, the conversation around overtourism has reached a tipping point. This isn’t just about irritated locals or crowded streets; it’s about the broader impact on our environment and the often fragile fabric of these communities. The recent protests in cities like Venice and Barcelona are not isolated incidents, but are symptomatic of a deeper, systemic issue in how we approach travel and destination marketing.
A Generational Divide
We’re seeing a massive difference in how travelers approach sustainability based solely on their age. The data is stark: 92% of Gen Zers and 89% of Millennials are ready to alter their travel behaviors to reduce their environmental footprint, while only 5% of Boomers say sustainability plays a significant role in their travel decisions. And this isn’t just a momentary preference – it’s also an indicator of how travel services and marketing need to evolve to meet the future demands of a more environmentally conscious traveler.
Conscious Consumerism
There’s a shift happening in Europe – 58% of travelers want to know how to make their journeys more sustainable. This shift toward conscious consumerism in travel is an opportunity for destinations and travel companies to rethink their offerings. Promoting local products, reducing single-use plastics and encouraging off-season visits aren’t simply ethical choices, they’re the foundation for regenerative travel that’s being built by consumer demands for thoughtful sustainability.
Economic Implications of Travel Decisions
The relationship between income and sustainability in travel is more complex than it seems. Higher-income travelers are slightly less concerned with sustainability compared to those earning under $100K annually. You might think this is just a quirk of the data, but it’s actually a critical insight for how we should tailor sustainability messaging. The economic benefits of sustainable tourism, like supporting local communities, need to be front and center if we’re going to shift perceptions and behaviors across income brackets.
These valuable insights (and many others) are featured in MMGY’s Portrait of American Travelers® – as well as other MMGY syndicated studies on travel intent – which are now available by subscription in the MMGY Intel Library.
To learn more about accessing this wealth of data that you can immediately use to improve your strategies, learn more about the Intel Library here.
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