The World Journey & Tourism Council (WTTC) unveiled its newest report immediately, exploring the essential hole between travellers’ want for sustainable choices and their precise behaviour.
Launched immediately at FITUR 2025, Madrid, the report Bridging the Say-Do Hole: Easy methods to Create an Efficient Sustainability Technique by Figuring out Your Clients was developed in collaboration with WTTC data accomplice YouGov.
The report explores the disconnect between what travellers say about sustainability and the alternatives they finally make.
It supplies actionable steering to Journey & Tourism companies on how they’ll deal with this hole by providing options that make sustainable journey each extra accessible and extra engaging, finally balancing financial progress and environmental accountability.
The research, drawing on a survey of greater than 10,000 respondents, categorised travellers into six shopper segments, starting from the eco-conscious “Hopeful Worriers” to the disengaged “Local weather Change Agnostics”. Every group comes with distinctive behaviours, priorities, and boundaries to deciding on sustainable selections.
Understanding these numerous views is crucial for companies to craft efficient sustainability methods that resonate with their viewers and drive actual influence.
Based on the info, price and high quality stay the dominant priorities for travellers, outweighing sustainability concerns. Throughout all shopper segments, greater than 50% say price is crucial issue influencing buying selections, whereas round 30% prioritise high quality.
In stark distinction, sustainability is a main issue for less than a small minority, starting from 11% to 7%, even among the many most environmentally aware teams.
An absence of visibility additionally stays a major barrier to progress. Over 10% of respondents reported no publicity to sustainability messaging or info by any channel, together with mainstream media, social platforms, or community-driven initiatives.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, mentioned: “Travellers care about sustainability however when shopping for journey, price and high quality are king. Clients anticipate companies to create reasonably priced sustainable choices. However many WTTC firms encourage change – whether or not that’s regrowing coral reefs or decreasing meals waste. Clients have interaction with manufacturers which have sturdy values.
“I’m delighted to collaborate with YouGov for such a vital piece of labor. By closing the say-do hole, we not solely shield the planet however guarantee extra rewarding experiences for purchasers and a brighter and extra resilient future for our planet.”
Analysis was additionally carried out by WTTC Member, Journey.com, culminating in The Sustainable Journey Shopper Report 2024. Journey.com’s report helps WTTC findings, noting the significance of price and making sustainability hassle-free, encouraging customers in direction of extra sustainable motion.
Enterprise Suggestions
WTTC’s report gives seven key suggestions to assist the business bridge this divide, calling on companies to guide by instance, partnering the place attainable with different companies and governments on sustainability initiatives.
To drive actual change, the report recommends highlighting the financial and private advantages of sustainable journey, guaranteeing eco-friendly choices are easy and handy for customers, and introducing tiered reward programmes to inspire motion in any respect ranges.
Tailor-made advertising that speaks on to the values and wishes of particular person customers has been proven to considerably enhance engagement throughout completely different segments. Designing out unsustainable choices to make sustainability the default selection can facilitate the decision-making course of and enhance the general expertise.
Many Journey & Tourism firms are actively adopting sustainable practices and speaking them to customers.
Intrepid Journey prominently labels journey itineraries with their carbon influence and offsets
emissions robotically. Iberostar leverages AI know-how to cut back meals waste in its accommodations and prioritises underutilised fish shares. Hilton has outfitted over 1,800 accommodations with EV charging factors, with practically a 3rd of its EMEA properties powered totally by renewable power.
As local weather motion turns into an crucial reasonably than an possibility, this report equips companies with the instruments and insights they should thrive in a quickly altering world.
WTTC urges all Journey & Tourism enterprise leaders to leverage this report back to encourage innovation and chart a sustainable path ahead.