Going Green, But Not Willing to Pay For It

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(ORLANDO, FL) -- Although the percentage of American travelers who consider themselves "environmentally conscious" remains unchanged this year compared to 2007 (at 78 percent), there has been a remarkable increase in the percentage who report they are familiar with the term "carbon footprint" (from 12 percent in July 2007 to 54 percent in July 2009). Enhanced awareness of this environmental term hasn't translated into actions intended to minimize the carbon footprint created by their travel, however, as only three percent have purchased a carbon offset when booking travel according to our July travelhorizons™, the quarterly consumer survey we co-author with the U.S. Travel Association.

Heightened awareness of environmental issues has translated into an increase in the incidence of several environmentally friendly behaviors at home including turning lights off when leaving a room, recycling and composting trash, and using more energy efficient CFL light bulbs. In fact, the incidence of all of the environmentally-responsible behaviors measured in the survey has increased since the benchmark measures were recorded in 2007 as revealed below:




Consumers' willingness to pay higher fares or rates to patronize travel service suppliers who demonstrate environmental responsibility remains limited, though, with only nine percent of U.S. adults stating they would do so. Among those who would, roughly four out of ten (39 percent) would pay up to a five percent fare or rate premium to an environmentally responsible supplier, and an equal percentage would pay between five percent and nine percent more. These data suggest that most travelers view the additional expenses that are typically incurred to operate in an environmentally responsible manner should be borne by travel suppliers as a cost of doing business. And although they believe travel suppliers should be good stewards of their environment, over half also believe that individuals themselves have the greatest responsibility for preserving and protecting the environment, while just over one-fourth believe this responsibility rests primarily with the federal government.

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