Home News & Features The Vacationer Releases Results of Its Sustainable Travel Survey 2023

The Vacationer Releases Results of Its Sustainable Travel Survey 2023

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NATIONAL REPORT—The Vacationer has posted its Sustainable Travel Survey 2023. Click here to see it. The survey was conducted before Earth Day 2023 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, and what the most important factor is when booking travel. Unfortunately, the results show sentiment is down this year compared to last year.

The anonymous survey included 1,017 American adults over the age of 18 and was conducted online using SurveyMonkey’s interface/audience from March 1, 2023, to March 2, 2023. I, Eric Jones, analyzed the survey, and I am an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Rowan College South Jersey.

Key Stats:

  • 82.1 percent of American adults say sustainable travel is either Somewhat Important or Very Important to them. That is 5.22 percent less than the same question in our 2022 Sustainable Travel Survey where 87.32 percent said sustainable travel is either Somewhat Important or Very Important to them.
  • 74.33 percent of American adults plan to make more sustainable (eco-friendly) decisions when planning travel. Of the 74.33 percent, only 22.81 percent say they will make the decisions even if it inconveniences them, while 51.52 percent will do it only if it does not inconvenience them. Last year, 81.57 percent planned to make more sustainable decisions when planning travel, so there is a significant drop from last year.
  • 70.89 percent would pay more for a vacation to lower their carbon footprint. Last year, 78.28 percent said they would pay more, so this is another notable decrease.
  • 4.62 percent say sustainability and carbon footprint is the most important factor when booking travel. Last year, 6.84 percent said it is the most important factor.

Here are the full results:

How important is sustainable travel (environmentally friendly) to you?

Very Important.—28.71 percent
Somewhat Important.—53.39 percent
Not at All Important. —17.90 percent

Key Takeaway—More than 82 percent of American adults say sustainable travel is Very Important or Somewhat Important to them. The 82.1 percent that said this equates to 212 million people according to the latest census. This seems like a lot, and it certainly is. However, it is 5.22 percent less than the 87.32 percent that said this in last year’s survey.

Do you intend to make more sustainable (eco-friendly) decisions when planning travel?

Yes, regardless if it inconveniences me.—22.81 percent
Yes, but only if it does not inconvenience me.—51.52 percent
No.—25.66 percent

Key Takeaway—Nearly 26 percent of American adults say they do not intend to make more sustainable decisions when planning travel. The 25.66 percent that said this represents more than 66 million people. In last year’s survey, only 18.43 percent or nearly 48 million American adults said this. This means within the last year, 7.23 percent of all American adults, or more than 18 million people halted intentions of making eco-friendly decisions when planning travel. These people do not intend to make more sustainable decisions even when it does not inconvenience them.

Which factor is most important to you when booking travel?

Cost.—59.78 percent
Time and Convenience.—35.59 percent
Sustainability and Carbon Footprint.—4.62 percent

Key Takeaway—Less than 5 percent of American adults say Sustainability and Carbon Footprint is the most important factor when booking travel. The 4.62 percent that said this equates to nearly 12 million people. This seems quite impressive, but again this figure is down from last year. In our 2022 survey, 6.84 percent said sustainability and carbon footprint is the most important factor when booking travel. The drop from 6.84 percent to 4.62 percent represents a percentage decrease in the last year of more than 32 percent.

How much more would you be willing to spend on your vacation to lower your carbon footprint from the trip?

$0.—29.11 percent
Less than $50.—29.30 percent
Between $50 and $250.—26.94 percent
Between $250 and $500.—10.62 percent
Over $500.—4.03 percent

Key Takeaway—Nearly 71 percent of American adults say they are willing to pay more for a family vacation to lower their carbon footprint from the trip. This 70.89 percent equates to nearly 183 million people. It includes the 29.30 percent of people that say they would spend less than $50 more and the 26.94 percent of people that say they would spend between $50 and $250 more. Additionally, it includes the 10.62 percent of American adults that say they’d spend between $250 and $500 more and the 4.03 percent of people that say they would spend over $500 more on a vacation to lower their carbon footprint. Keeping with the trend of this survey, this is less than the 78.28 percent of American adults that said they would pay more for a family vacation to be more sustainable in our 2022 survey.

The demographics of the 1,017 Americans anonymously surveyed include 46.02 percent male and 53.98 percent female. The age breakdown of participants included in this survey was 22.32 percent in the range 18 to 29, 26.55 percent in the range of 30 to 44 percent, 26.35 percent in the range of 45 to 60 percent, and 24.78 percent over 60. This survey has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of ±3.136 percent.

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