NATIONAL REPORT—The Vacationer has posted its Sustainable Travel Survey 2022 results. It conducted this survey before Earth Day 2022 to find out how Americans feel about sustainable travel, how many are willing to spend more money to travel sustainably, how many plan on making more eco-friendly decisions when planning travel, how many use technology/filters to find sustainable travel options, and more.
The anonymous survey included 1,096 American adults over the age of 18 and was conducted online using SurveyMonkey’s interface/audience on March 1, 2022. Eric Jones analyzed the survey. He is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Rowan College South Jersey. A complete methodology is listed at the bottom.
Here are the full results:
- How important is sustainable travel (environmentally friendly) to you?
Very Important. — 34.22%
Somewhat Important. — 53.10%
Not at All Important. — 12.68%
Key Takeaway — More than 87% of American adults say sustainable travel is either Somewhat Important or Very Important to them. The 87.32% represents nearly 225 million people based on the current census. This is 4.65% more people than in the 2021 sustainable travel survey. The 4.65% may not seem like a lot, but it represents nearly 12 million which is quite substantial. Many more people are becoming aware of sustainable travel methods and find it important to them. Additionally, 34.22% of people say sustainable travel is very important to them this year. Last year only 26.10% said it was very important to them which equates to a nearly 24% increase in people saying sustainable travel is very important.
- Do you intend to make more sustainable (eco-friendly) decisions when planning travel?
Yes, regardless if it inconveniences me. — 29.84%
Yes, but only if it does not inconvenience me. — 51.73%
No. — 18.43%
Key Takeaway — Nearly 82% of American adults say they intend to make more eco-friendly decisions when planning travel. The 81.57% includes the 29.84% that says they will do it regardless if it inconveniences them. Also, it includes the 51.73% of American adults that say they will do it only if it does not inconvenience them. In total, the 81.57% represents 210 million people. It is also 6.72% or over 17 million more people than said they intend to make more sustainable travel choices last year.
- Which factor is most important to you when booking travel?
Cost. — 59.58%
Time and Convenience. — 33.58%
Sustainability and Carbon Footprint. — 6.84%
Key Takeaway — Nearly 7% of American adults say sustainability and carbon footprint is the most important factor when booking travel. The 6.84% may seem like a small figure, but it still represents nearly 18 million people. Additionally, the 6.84% is a 36% increase from 2021 when only 4.38% of American adults said sustainability and carbon footprint was the most important factor.
- How much more would you be willing to spend on your vacation in order to lower your carbon footprint from the trip?
$0. — 21.72%
Less than $50. — 33.39%
Between $50 and $250. — 33.21%
Between $250 and $500. — 9.22%
Over $500. — 2.46%
Key Takeaway — Over 78% of American adults would pay more for a vacation to lower their carbon footprint. The 78.28% represents 202 million people. It also is more than the 71.37%, or 184 million people, that said they would pay more for a vacation last year. Additionally, 11.68% of American adults or 30 million people said they would spend $250 or more to lower their carbon footprint when traveling. Also, 2.46% or more than 6 million Americans said they would spend over $500. Earth day is going to be more important than ever as more and more people are prepared to fight climate change.
- Do you think there are enough sustainable travel options when it comes to flights, hotels, and rental cars?
Yes. — 18.16%
No. — 37.41%
I do not know. — 44.43%
Key Takeaway — More than 37% of people do not think there are enough sustainable travel options when it comes to flights, hotels, and rental cars. Another 44.43% of people do not know. This means 81.43% either think there are not enough sustainable travel options or simply do not know. The 81.43% represents 210 million people. This is a large portion of people thinking there are not enough sustainable options or not knowing if there is.
- Do you go out of your way to find sustainable travel options by using filters like “low emissions” when searching for flights or other similar filters for hotels and rental cars?
Yes. — 19.43%
No. — 36.59%
I did not know those filters existed. — 43.98%
Key Takeaway — Nearly 2 out of every 10 American adults say they go out of their way to find sustainable travel options. The 19.43% equates to 50 million people. A total of 50 million people intentionally using filters to find sustainable travel options is a substantial amount. A total of 43.98% of Americans also do not even know these filters exist. If the public were more educated about these filters and sustainable travel options, we would likely see a very large increase in people using them.
- How careful are you with water and energy usage while in a hotel or Airbnb compared to at home? (e.g. Do you turn off lights and fans when not using them?)
Less Careful than at Home. — 13.50%
The Same as at Home. — 76.64%
More Careful than at Home. — 9.85%
Key Takeaway — 13.50% of American adults or 35 million people say they are less careful than at home when it comes to energy usage at a hotel or Airbnb. On the other hand, 9.85% or 25 million people say they are more careful than at home.
You can view the entire survey here: https://thevacationer.com/sustainable-travel-survey-2022/
The demographics of the 1,096 Americans anonymously surveyed include 46.71% male and 53.29% female. The age breakdown of participants included in this survey was 20.20% in the range 18-29, 29.25% in the range 30-44, 25.87% in the range 45-60, and 24.68% over 60. This survey has a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of ±3.026%.
