According to a new survey from TripAdvisor, 71 percent of travelers say they plan to make more “eco-friendly” travel decisions in the next 12 months, compared to 65 percent in the past 12 months. But with varying opinions on what constitutes eco-friendly anything these days, what does that mean?
As per the release, the top “eco-friendly” efforts practiced by individuals participating in the survey are as follows:
- 88 percent turn off lights when leaving their hotel room
- 80 percent participate in their hotel’s linen or towel re-use program
- 57 percent use recycling in the hotel
From the data, it looks like most of the travelers surveyed avail of small opportunities to make eco-friendly decisions when the opportunities are presented to them, usually in their hotels. But what opportunities are the hotels offering?
- 58 percent offer linen or towel re-use programs
- 37 percent have an adjustable thermostat in the room
- 32 percent offer water-efficient low-flow toilets and showerheads
They are small moves, but compared to what hotels could be doing, they don’t amount to very much. To boot, 60 percent of travelers say they rarely feel informed about whether hotels are truly eco-friendly or just claiming to be. It seems to fall, then, on hotels and tourism operators to truly incorporate greener practices, publicize them and offer ways for guests to get on board. It seems that many travelers want to be more eco-friendly – they just need that extra push when they’re in vacation mode.
[Flickr image via cogdogblog]