Travel sector mulls green future but tourists reluctant to pay
BERLIN – around the world and especially in Europe are supportive of more eco-friendly trips butto carry the extra cost, according to studies and industry executives.
In the European Union’s economic powerhouse Germany, for example, 24 percent ofers believe ecological sustainability is an important criterion when booking a holiday, according to a survey by motor vehicle association ADAC released this month.
But only 5-10 percent would be willing toeven a moderate sustainability surcharge, according to the poll of 5,000 people.
“The rub is people don’t want to necessarilymore for sustainability,” said Charuta Fadnis, head of research and product strategy atresearch company Phocuswright.
That has left the industry questioning how to becomeer as it faces thin margins and a post-pandemic recovery still hampered by globalrestrictions, like the slow rebound of visas available to Chinese.
Carbon offsets have been available on the market for years, with many airlines offering voluntary investment programmes. But the uptake has been limited and there are questions over how effective offsets actually are.
Thomas Fowler, the director of sustainability for Irish budget airline Ryanair told Reuters earlier this year that few are willing tothe few euros needed to take part in their carbon offset programme.
“Less than 3 percent of our customers use it,” he said.
Germany’s flagship airline Lufthansa in February began offering more expensive “fares” on some flights, said to offset their burden on the climate by 20 percent through the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and 80 percent through the financing of climate protection projects.
This is integrated into the price, unlike Lufthansa’s existing opt-in charges, for which uptake has been very low at 0.1 percent , according to the company. A trial run for the new integrated offer in Scandinavia showed a modest but improved uptake rate of 2 percent .
The younger generation is more committed to sustainability, said Fadnis. But without willingness toslightly more upfront, businesses have to become more creative.
Many hotels, for example, ask those who stay there to reuse their towels, while otherservices encourageto adjust their habits by renting hybrid cars.
Someoperators insist that climate-friendly tourism need not cost the world and can sometimes even be the cheaper option, encouraging habits such as reusable water bottles and use of bikes or public transportation.
Time-slot bookings, made ubiquitous during the pandemic, have become a tool to prevent overcrowding and minimise visitors’ footprint locally.
GetYourGuide, a Berlin-based platform for bookingexperiences, said this was one way it was reducing its impact, for example with queue management at the Vatican.
“That is much better than people … waiting for four hours … at the Vatican, you know, trashing the place” GetYourGuide CEO Johannes Reck said.
Demand forer offers is helping some businesses, but there are certain demographics that will remain stubbornly opposed to even marginal price hikes – particularly those over 55.
“They’re averse to pain,” Fadnis said.