SAN FRANCISCO—Community Marketing, Inc. (CMI), the market research, strategic consulting, and communications specialists, announced the release of its CMIGreen 1st Annual Green Traveler Survey Report. The Annual Green Traveler Survey Report is the result of a unique, pan-industry cooperative initiative between tourism businesses and nonprofit, environmental and sustainable business organizations, from the development of the survey to the interpretation of its findings. The report is being offered free to the tourism and hospitality industries, in order to advance efforts toward greener travel. The CMIGreen study surveyed the purchasing habits, travel behavior, environmental commitment, expectations and motivations of 1,736 self-defined, eco-conscious travelers.
“This is not a study about how many people recycle; there is sufficient data on that,” says Thomas Roth, president of Community Marketing. “The Green Traveler Survey Report is a comprehensive profile of green travel consumers, and it fills a need for concrete data on this distinct, desirable niche segment. Until now, no one has had a clear idea about who green travelers are or what they want. The ‘green travel’ niche has been defined mostly by spending figures.
“Without this data, it has been difficult for tourism and hospitality leaders to understand and serve the interests of this increasingly important segment,” Roth adds. “Nor has it been possible to establish consistent standards for sustainable travel. In fact, this study found that consumers are often confused and skeptical about green travel claims, which undermines many marketing initiatives.”
Broad Spectrum of Eco-conscious Travelers
Among the other key findings in the CMIGreen 1st Annual Green Traveler Survey Report is the broad spectrum of travelers comprising the green travel niche, from business and leisure travelers who participate in hotel recycling and towel reuse programs to “voluntourists” working on environmental and social development projects in developing countries.
“Marketers, sustainable program designers and other stakeholders at travel and hospitality companies need to understand the green travel spectrum in order to know where their customers fall on it, and what motivates them,” Roth says.
The study also found a gap between what green travelers say and their actual purchasing behavior, as well as price sensitivity when it came to “green premiums.”
The 1st Annual Green Traveler Survey Report assesses green travelers’ view of the travel industry. While they may be driving sustainable travel industry practices, green travelers do not believe that the industry is very green yet. When asked to evaluate the green initiatives and messaging in each sector of the travel industry, the best answer most respondents could give was “needs work.” Airlines, cruise operators and rental car companies received a substantial number of “terrible” votes from respondents.
Respondents to the study indicated that virtually no “green brands” had emerged as leaders in the sustainable travel niche. “There are few ‘top-of-mind’ greener brands, if any, in any segment of the industry,” Roth says. “That told us that travel suppliers and destinations were failing to differentiate themselves with robust, green practices—and that their branding and messaging could be sharper and more meaningful.”
Fastest Growing Niche in Travel
From carbon offsets to organic restaurants and towel reuse options at hotels, green travel is the fastest growing niche in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.
“As the planet continues to heat up and resources become scarcer, every other sector of the economy is going to be adopting sustainable practices—more or less quickly,” Roth says. “It makes business—as well as environmental—sense. Eco-conscious travelers are trendsetters in our industry. The rest of the market will follow. This is a critical time in travel and tourism. In order to avoid a catastrophic meltdown of the industry—whether from government regulation, shifting consumer behavior, or both, the industry has to become authentically greener, and has to communicate that to its customers in a credible way.”
To receive a complimentary pdf copy of the 150-plus page report, e-mail your request to report@CMIgreen.com. Include your name, title and organization. You will receive a link to download the pdf of the report, plus updates to the study, and announcements about future initiatives.
