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Travel executives have frequently spoken of their aims to make the industry greener but are having a hard time reducing its rapidly growing carbon footprint. So what are the travel industry’s biggest challenges regarding sustainability?
We turned to our Ask Skift 2.0. Our answer engine used information that’s appeared in our past news coverage, and we also did additional reporting.
What Ask Skift Said
The travel industry faces several major sustainability challenges as it grapples with the pressing need to reduce its environmental impact while continuing to grow. These challenges are multifaceted and include issues related to greenhouse gas emissions, the industry’s vulnerability to climate change, and the need for more robust policies and technological innovations.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The travel and tourism sector is responsible for a significant portion of global emissions, estimated to be around 8-9% of annual global emissions. Despite pledges and efforts to reduce emissions, such as the Glasgow Declaration, which aims to cut emissions in the tourism sector, emissions from travel are projected to rise by 25% by 2030. This demonstrates a gap between goals and actual progress.
Challenges of Implementing Sustainable Practices: Many travel businesses have committed to reducing their carbon footprint but face challenges in implementation. For example, only a small percentage of hotels currently utilize renewable energy sources, and there is a significant gap between environmental commitments and tangible actions, particularly in energy consumption. The controversy surrounding the effectiveness and transparency of carbon credits further complicates emission reduction efforts.
Vulnerability to Climate Change: The travel industry is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which includes extreme weather events such as storms, floods, heatwaves, and droughts. These events pose significant risks to infrastructure and can disrupt travel and tourism activities. For instance, Spain’s tourism industry could be severely impacted by climate change, leading to issues like eroded beaches and water shortages.
Policy and Regulation: There is a need for stronger government policies and regulations to support sustainable travel practices. The lack of fast-moving policies hinders the industry’s ability to make environmentally friendly choices more accessible and affordable. For example, train travel, which is more sustainable than flying, is often more expensive and less convenient due to insufficient investment in public transportation.
Technological Innovation: While technological advancements such as clean aviation fuels and climate-smart routing software hold promise for reducing the travel industry’s carbon footprint, these innovations are not being adopted quickly enough. The industry requires systemic changes and technological breakthroughs to make greener choices the default.
In summary, the travel industry faces significant sustainability challenges, including reducing emissions, adapting to climate change, influencing policy, and integrating innovative technologies. These challenges require coordinated efforts from businesses, governments, and consumers to create a more sustainable future for travel.
What Else You Need to Know
The Simple Act of People Traveling: A study published in Nature Communications late last year revealed that residents of high-income countries generate more than 100 times the tourism-related emissions per person than those living in the world’s poorest countries.
The report’s authors attributed the disparity to people in wealthier countries being more likely to travel internationally and participate in carbon-intensive activities, including long-haul flights. They suggested policy measures that address travel demand — such as limiting the growth of long-haul flights — are needed to combat tourism’s massive carbon footprint.
Aviation Is Difficult to Green: Airlines — which are responsible for about 2.5% of global carbon dioxide emissions — have long struggled to reduce their carbon footprint. Although the European Union is requiring that at least 2% of all aviation fuel used in the bloc must be low-emission sustainable aviation fuel from 2025, European airline groups recently asked for assistance in hitting the sector’s climate goals.
Travelers’ Uncertainty About Sustainability: Although 92% of respondents in a survey published in Trip.com’s 2024 Sustainable Travel Consumer Report acknowledged the importance of sustainable travel, a little less than 57% said they practiced it. The survey revealed a major reason is “a lack of clear understanding of the concept.”
Generation Z travelers are also confused about what’s considered sustainable travel. In the same survey, 73% of Gen Z travelers said they considered using online travel agencies that provide more sustainable options, but more than 48% said they didn’t know the criteria for a sustainable trip, while almost 32% fail to see any added benefit from sustainable travel.
Price Wins Out Over Sustainability: Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel said at a Destination Europe event last month that although travelers generally express a desire for greener trips, price is more important than sustainability when it’s time to book.
“Even if the cheaper [price] is less sustainable, many people still choose that. Everybody wants to be sustainable, but they want somebody else to be sustainable.”
More From Ask Skift
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Skift’s in-depth reporting on climate issues is made possible through the financial support of Intrepid Travel. This backing allows Skift to bring you high-quality journalism on one of the most important topics facing our planet today. Intrepid is not involved in any decisions made by Skift’s editorial team.
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