Most Indian holidayers interested in sustainable travel, says report

MUMBAI: Even as 95 per cent of Indian travellers interviewed said sustainable travel is important to them, more than half feel the irreversible damage has already been done, a report said on Monday.

Online travel agency Booking.com’s ninth ‘Sustainable Travel Report 2024’ revealed that almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of Indian travellers stated they would feel guilty when they make less sustainable travel choices and 20 per cent of them want to travel more sustainably because they believe it’s the right thing to do.

Booking.com’s ninth Sustainable Travel Report 2024, is based on insights gathered from more than 31,000 travellers across 34 countries and territories, including 1,000 in India.

However, the report found that a sense of disillusion towards making more sustainable travel choices might be counteracting these positive intentions.

For the first time this year, the report revealed that some travellers don’t recognise the importance of being more mindful.

Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of

Indian travellers felt travelling more sustainably is important, but not a primary consideration when planning or booking a trip, it added.

More than half (52 per cent) feel that the damage already done is irreversible and that the travel choices they make are not going to change that, said the report.

In fact, 39 per cent don’t believe climate change is as severe as people make it out to be and 47 per cent feel their time spent travelling is too precious to put sustainability at the top of their decision-making list, it noted.

Over 53 per cent of travellers believed that being more sustainable in a destination that is not implementing sustainability practices itself feels pointless, it added.

“This year’s new insights show that a sense of weariness could be emerging among travellers fuelled by the ongoing challenges that they experience to make more sustainable travel choices... we believe working together across the industry, simple changes when taken together can start to make a big difference,” Booking.com country manager, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia, Santosh Kumar, added.