Climate, Community and Choice! Trends shaping sustainable travel in 2022: Booking.com

Booking.com released new research, with insights gathered from more than 30,000 travellers across 32 countries and territories including Singapore, highlighting that the impact of their trips remains top of mind, with 72% of Singapore travellers saying that they want to travel more sustainably over the coming 12 months.  With 77% of Singapore travellers confirming that sustainable travel is important to them, over half of all local respondents (57%) cited that recent news about climate change has influenced them to make more sustainable travel choices.

To that end, over a third (32%) of Singapore travellers say that the sustainability efforts of accommodations and transport providers play a strong role in their property and transport decisions respectively. In fact, 69% of Singapore travellers say they would be more likely to choose a sustainable accommodation – whether they were looking specifically for one or not.

In search of more sustainable stays

Awareness and visibility of more sustainable stays continues, with close to half (48%) of Singapore travellers confirming they have seen a sustainable accommodation on an online travel site over the past year and 37% indicating that they actively look for information on the sustainability efforts of a property before they book.

Even more encouraging are the 54% of Singapore travellers who say they have actually stayed in a sustainable accommodation over the past year. However, while a vast majority (84%) of Singapore travellers intend to stay in a sustainable property at least once in the coming year, there is still more to do to make more sustainable stay options easier to find for everyone. Of those who didn’t stay in a sustainable accommodation over the past year, 30% said they didn’t know they existed. While this is down 17% from 2021, indicating that awareness is growing, nearly one in three (31%) said they still didn’t know how to find them. More than half (56%) admit that they don’t actively look for the sustainability efforts of a property before they book, but if made easily accessible, they say they will review it, which further underlines the importance of making this sustainability information transparent and understandable for a broad audience of travellers.

Alternative destinations and timing

There is consensus amongst Singapore travellers on wanting to avoid busy and over-visited destinations, with almost a third (31%) saying that they chose to travel outside of peak season and over a quarter (27%) choosing to go to a less popular travel destination over the last 12 months to avoid overcrowding.

To that end, when thinking about future trips 37% said they’d be willing to exclusively travel outside of peak season to avoid overcrowding, and over half (64%) revealed that they would avoid popular tourist destinations and attractions to ensure a more even dispersal of the impact and benefits of their visit. Almost a third (29%) would even be willing to choose an alternative to their preferred destination to help avoid overcrowding.

On the flip side, 43% struggle to find appealing destinations that are less crowded and 41% feel like it’s not possible to find sustainable travel options in cities or other popular tourist destinations. This indicates an opportunity for travel platforms to work with accommodation providers in these destinations to help them progress on their sustainability journeys and in turn to highlight more sustainable options, as well as to help consumers discover alternate times and places to take their trips, without sacrificing on experience.

Connection to culture and local communities

A regenerative philosophy is influencing decision-making, with 54% of Singapore travellers saying they want to leave the places they visit better than when they arrived and two-thirds (64%) wanting to have experiences that are representative of the local culture. In fact, almost a quarter (24%) say they have actively familiarised themselves with the local cultural values and traditions at their travel destination in advance of their trips and approximately one in four (27%) would be willing to pay more for travel activities to ensure they are giving back to local communities.

Tipping point for transportation

Singapore travellers are also mindful about how far they travel, how they get there and how they get around once they’re there. A quarter (25%) say they chose to travel to a destination closer to home to reduce their carbon footprint and one in four (25%) indicated that they researched public transport and/or options to rent a bicycle in their chosen destination. Over a quarter (27%) also chose to travel by train instead of car for longer distances and over a third (36%) say they feel ashamed to fly because of its impact on the environment. When it comes to booking transportation for their trips, 39% actively look for sustainability information.

While 54% reveal that they don’t actively look for more sustainable transport options, it still has an impact on booking behaviour and customer satisfaction. For example, although 33% say sustainability efforts don’t play a strong role in their transport choices, they report that it can influence their final choice. And for the 28% who say that sustainability efforts play no role in their choice of transportation, knowing that the transport option booked follows sustainability best practices still makes them feel good, opening up a wide range of opportunities to grow consideration for more sustainable options across the entire trip experience.

Continuing the journey to more sustainable travel for everyone

With more than 100,000 properties globally now being recognized for their sustainability efforts with a Travel Sustainable badgeon Booking.com, the company has also further expanded the number of third-party certifications and labels that automatically qualify accommodations to receive it. In addition to those officially approved by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Green Tourism and the EU Ecolabel, this now also includes Green Seal, Nordic Swan Ecolabel, Green Hospitality Ecolabel, Ibex Fairstay, Fair Trade Tourism, LEED and Edge.

Booking.com remained carbon-neutral in its operations in 2021 and transitioned to 100% renewable electricity towards the end of 2021, an important step as part of the company’s contribution to Booking Holdings’ recently released Climate Action Plan. The first of its kind for any global online travel company, its Climate Action Plan functions as a strategic framework for how Booking Holdings intends to make its operations, services and the travel industry more sustainable. In line with the definitions and measurements established by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the Climate Action Plan includes ambitious targets that aim to help the company achieve a 95% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions by the end of 2030, 50% reduction in scope 3 emissions by 2030, and net-zero emissions by 2040.

“With increased pressure on our natural resources and the undeniable impact our way of life is having on the  environment, we are 100% committed to leading the industry in charting a more mindful and responsible course for the future of travel,” said Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking.com. “We have ambitious goals for what we want to achieve, but together with our partners across the industry and the passion of our innovative employees, we can continue to make it easier for everyone to experience the world in a more mindful and responsible way. We believe that travel is and should remain a powerful force for good, bringing enhanced cultural understanding, socio-economic opportunities for countless communities and the potential to help rejuvenate and protect our planet for the long term.”

This is also aligned with Singapore’s efforts to become a leading sustainable urban destination. Recognising that sustainability is becoming one of the top priorities for travellers visiting Singapore, the city-state has joined the Global Destination Sustainability-Index (GDS-Index) with the support of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to build on the country’s sustainability efforts under Singapore Green Plan 2030 (SGP2030) – a nationwide movement to advance the city’s agenda on sustainable development, and achieve its vision of becoming a ‘City in Nature’.