Being ‘green’ is less important than having white teeth or a bronzed body for UK holidaymakers, according to research released today (Monday 6 November) at World Travel Market London – the leading global event for the travel industry.
The World Travel Market London 2017 Industry Report reveals travellers prefer to spend money on getting ‘beach ready’ than offsetting their carbon footprint – despite the fact the majority claim to care about the impact their travel has on the environment.
Three-quarters of respondents claim the environment and sustainability are important when they travel, yet the same proportion admits they do not bother offsetting their carbon emissions, while 26% say they do not think about responsible tourism.
Instead, they are more likely to spend money on improving their appearance, including paying for cosmetic surgery or a spray tan.
When asked: “How much do you spend pre-holiday to get yourself beach ready?” one in three (33%) said they spend up to £100; 16% spend in the region of £100-£199 and 6% spend somewhere between £200-£299.
A further 4% spend £300 or more, while 33% spend nothing and 8% are not sure how much they spend on pre-holiday purchases.
When asked what their pre-holiday spend goes on, 86% buy new clothes; 54% buy new shoes and 46% buy a new bikini or swimwear. Brits also spend on beauty treatments, with 24% spending money on a manicure/pedicure; 24% splashing out on a spray tan; 7% paying to have their teeth whitened and 4% paying for cosmetic surgery.
Three quarters (76%) of respondents said the environment and sustainability is important in their choice of holiday or destination, with 10% saying it is ‘very important’. Of the rest, 40% answered ‘somewhat important’, while 20% said it is ‘quite important’.
However, 73% do not offset their carbon emissions when they fly. Of those that do, only 5% offset emissions on all flights; 10% offset emissions on two out of three flights while 13% ‘sometimes’ offset their carbon emissions, on about one out of three flights.
Almost a quarter (23%) of respondents hold their hands up to say the environment and sustainability is not important, with 6% saying the issue is ‘not at all important’ and 17% saying it’s not very important.
The research also reveals 19% do not consider responsible tourism when on holiday, such as shopping locally or adhering to hotels’ policies on re-using bath towels.
When asked whether the travel and tourism industry is doing enough to reduce its contribution to climate change, holidaymakers are split 50/50.
WTM London’s Paul Nelson said: “Our research shows that, while UK holidaymakers pay lip service to being green, in reality they’re more likely to pay to have their teeth whitened, get a bronzed beach body, or have liposuction than spend on offsetting their carbon footprint.”
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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises five leading B2B events across four continents generating more than $7bn of industry deals. The five events are;
WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Around 51,500 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL – London every November generating around £2.8 billion of travel industry contracts. http://london.wtm.com/. Next event: 6-8 Nov 2017 – London.
International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) now in its 20th edition, is the meeting place for the global B2B golf travel community. More than 600 golf tourism suppliers join 350 pre-qualified buyers and 100 international press for four days of unmissable pre-scheduled appointments, exclusive networking opportunities and invaluable industry and trend updates. Taking place in a different destination every year, IGTM brings together 1,400 golf tourism professionals from over 65 countries. http://igtm.wtm.com/. Next event: 11-14 Dec 2017 – Cannes.
World Travel Market Latin America now in its fifth edition attracts about 9,000 unique senior executives. The event generates US$ 370 million of new business. Taking place in Sao Paulo Brazil, this show attracts a global audience to meet and shape the direction of the travel industry. More than 7,000 unique visitors attend the event to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry news. http://latinamerica.wtm.com/. Next event: 3-5 April 2018 – Sao Paulo.
World Travel Market Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Nearly 5,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors. http://africa.wtm.com/. Next event: 18-20 April 2018 – Cape Town.
About Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2017 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, agreeing deals worth US$2.5bn over the four days. The 24th edition of ATM showcased over 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre, making it the largest ATM in its 24-year history. www.arabiantravelmarketwtm.com Next event 22-25 April 2018 – Dubai.
About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face to face through data and digital tools at over 500 events a year, in more than 30 countries, attracting more than 7m participants.
About Reed Travel Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether it is global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have over 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.