Updated: June 2026
Sustainable tourism is becoming increasingly important to modern travelers. Today, global travelers are truly prioritizing the impact that their traveling is making on the environment and local communities. Both businesses and their employees are more environmentally conscious and want their travels to do minimal harm.
Understanding the trends in sustainable travel will empower you to better understand the future of all types of traveling – including corporate — and make better business decisions for the well-being of your business travel program, and your employees.
In this article, we’ll look at over 30 sustainable tourism statistics and trends you definitely need to know for better travel decision-making.
Editor’s Picks: the stats you need to know
The global sustainable tourism market was valued at $3.56 trillion in 2025 and is forecast to grow to approximately $11.39 trillion by 2034. (Precedence Research)
Searches for "sustainable travel" have increased by 108% over the past two years. (Precedence Research)
85% of travelers say more sustainable travel is important or very important to them. (Booking.com Travel & Sustainability Report 2026)
85% of corporate travel managers are now required to report carbon emissions. (GBTA / BCD Travel via Engine)
What is sustainable travel and tourism?
As environmental, societal and economic concerns rise, sustainable travel and tourism becomes the rational solution. Travelers and tour operators know that despite the positive impact that traveling has, there are some negative ones too–especially when it comes to the environment and the communities around it.
For example, according to a report from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the most polluting form of transport are flights.
Sustainable travel and tourism is when people travel with a more conscious effort to reduce, mitigate, or eliminate the negative impacts that it has. This can include efforts like:
reducing greenhouse gas emissions by choosing more sustainable transport options
offsetting pollution and harm to biodiversity
reducing the negative impact on cultural heritage
positively impacting the local economy at your destination
In short, sustainable travel is:
Ecotourism is about more than just physical ecosystems—it’s also about supporting local culture, meeting new people, experiencing the amazing things that the world has to offer, and much more, are the reasons we want to continue traveling. However, we want to do all this in a sustainable way.
30 travel statistics and trends that tell you everything about sustainable traveling
The sustainable travel market had been slowly growing in the past years before the pandemic. However, with the impact of the global pandemic, the rising ecological crisis, and the more conscious, younger generations speaking up, the sustainable travel and tourism industry is booming and consumer demand is rife for it.
The global sustainable tourism market was valued at $3.56 trillion in 2025 and is forecast to grow to approximately $11.39 trillion by 2034. (Precedence Research)
85% of travelers at all ages say that more sustainable travel is important or very important to them. (Booking.com Travel & Sustainability Report 2026)
75% of Gen Z travelers say they want to travel more sustainably in the next 12 months, compared to 71% of Millennials, 60% of Gen X, and 47% of Boomers. (Booking.com Travel & Sustainability Report 2026)
62% of travelers say they plan to stay in some form of sustainable accommodation at least once in the next year. (Radical Storage)
International tourist arrivals increased by 2% in Q1 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, with an estimated 307 million tourists travelling internationally in the first quarter alone. (UN Tourism)
How and why do travelers approach sustainable traveling?
Not all travelers share the same reason for wanting to travel more sustainably. Some want to do it for climate change, others simply want to reduce their carbon footprint and save on resources. Whichever reason someone may have, most travelers and most travel companies are now positively contributing towards a more sustainable future.
90% of travelers look for environmentally friendly options when booking, and half say they are willing to pay more for a trip that aligns with eco-friendly practices. (Expedia Group)
74% of travelers consider the risk of extreme weather when choosing both destination and timing of trips. (Booking.com Travel & Sustainability Report 2026)
43% of all travelers plan to avoid overcrowded tourist destinations in 2026, up 11% year on year. (Booking.com Travel & Sustainability Report 2026)
53% of travelers are aware of tourism's impact not just on the environment, but also on local communities. (Radical Storage)
41% of Americans say they are concerned about overtourism, with younger travelers aged 18 to 34 most likely to consider environmental and community impacts when choosing destinations. (YouGov)
News about climate change has influenced more than half of travelers (53%) to make more sustainable choices, and 67% say that seeing sustainable practices during trips motivates them to be more sustainable at home. (Passport Photo Online)
What about sustainable accommodation?
Traveling encompasses many things, from the type of private and public transport you take to the places you’re staying at and buying from. The hospitality industry has a huge impact on the way we look after the environment and the communities around it–the travel industry is responsible for 21% of all the ecological footprint generated by tourism.
Travelers booked more than 100 million room nights at properties with a third-party sustainability certification on Booking.com in 2025. (Booking.com Travel & Sustainability Report 2026)
Choosing sustainable accommodation costs an average of $151 less per night and was on average 39% cheaper than non-sustainable options. (Radical Storage)
53% of global travelers say they are looking for accommodation that combines comfort with innovative sustainability features. (Radical Storage)
40% of accommodation providers adjusted their operations in 2025 in response to existing or potential climate-related risks such as heatwaves or storms. (Booking.com Travel & Sustainability Report 2026)
Eco-certified hotels report up to 28% higher booking rates compared to non-certified competitors. (Hotelagio)
Who should be accountable for sustainable travel?
Not everyone agrees on which organization should be responsible for a greener way to travel. However, most agree it’s an interplay between self-accountability, as well as corporations, governments and other organizations like the United Nations that need to act together to ensure sustainability.
Sustainability now features in over 90% of corporate travel client RFPs and re-bids, shifting from a nice-to-have to a business requirement. (The Business Travel Magazine)
48% of travel managers say their companies are actively optimizing business travel practices to mitigate environmental impact in 2025. (Deloitte Corporate Travel Study 2025)
The share of travel managers prioritizing airlines that use sustainable aviation fuel jumped 10%, from 33% in 2024 to 43% in 2025. (Deloitte Corporate Travel Study 2025)
The global airline industry has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, with sustainable aviation fuel expected to account for 65% of the decarbonization needed to reach that target. (IATA)
What stops travelers from traveling sustainably?
Even if people wish to travel more sustainably, it’s not always possible. Costs, limited options, lack of available information, among other reasons, are quoted by travelers as obstacles stopping them from traveling greener.
Cost remains the top barrier to sustainable travel, with 54% of travel managers citing costs among the top three factors restricting travel in 2025, up from 48% in 2024. (Deloitte Corporate Travel Study 2025)
A lack of information and knowledge is the main barrier to sustainable travel for 32% of individuals. (Passport Photo Online)
Over half of travelers (60%) are open to paying more to businesses that prioritize environmental stewardship. (Passport Photo Online)
48% of travel managers in 2025 cited sustainability commitments as a factor restricting travel spend, up significantly from 38% in 2024 — showing sustainability targets are now a real operational constraint, not just a policy statement. (Deloitte Corporate Travel Study 2025)
91% of consumers globally believe at least some brands engage in greenwashing, indicating widespread distrust in environmental marketing claims — a significant barrier to action even among motivated travelers. (Adopter)
How do business travelers care about sustainability?
Corporate travel is one of the world’s largest contributors to carbon emissions–for example, business travel contributes to 53% of the total carbon footprint of PwC and this is similar with most Fortune 500 companies.
This is mainly due to the number of corporate travelers and the length of their trips.
Corporations and corporate travelers are aware of these challenges and they’re doing the best they can to support the sustainable travel movement–after all, they’re one of the major players.
Global business travel spend is forecast to reach $1.69 trillion in 2026. (GBTA via FCM Travel)
85% of corporate travel managers are now required to report carbon emissions. (GBTA / BCD Travel via Engine)
Nearly 60% of travelers are concerned about the carbon footprint of their work trips, influencing how they book and behave. (Business Travel News via FCM Travel)
Sustainability now features in over 90% of corporate travel RFPs, with carbon budgets, reduction targets, and supplier scorecards now standard for mature travel programmes. (The Business Travel Magazine)
42% of corporate booking tools in 2025 flagged carbon emissions per flight at the point of booking, up from previous years as emissions transparency becomes a standard feature. (Deloitte Corporate Travel Study 2025)
Global SAF production reached 1.9 million tonnes in 2025, nearly double 2024 output, but still represents just 0.6% of total jet fuel consumption — highlighting how much further the aviation industry needs to go to hit its net-zero 2050 target. (IATA)
Final thoughts on sustainable travel
Sustainable travel has become a higher priority after the pandemic, and according to these stats, we can see it’s a growing trend. However, when it comes to making a lasting change in the environment there’s still a lot we can do to travel more sustainably.
If you’re looking to create a more sustainable business travel program, TMCs like Perk offer carbon footprint reduction options and so much more, so you’ll be able to do your part to continue traveling while minimizing the effect of it on the environment.
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