Sustainability is important to three in four European travellers

New Accor research report highlights opportunities and challenges due to continued growth in travel

Europeans expect to travel more frequently and spend more on travel in 2025, according to a new research report by Accor, global leader in hospitality. But the industry faces an urgent need to address sustainability challenges arising from this growth and to help travellers turn good intentions into good choices.

The report, based on research conducted among 8,000 travellers from seven European countries, reveals that more than half (53%) of respondents expect to spend more on travel in 2025 than in 2024, compared with only 10% who expect a lower travel budget. Travellers in Poland were again most confident about their travel spending in 2025 compared to this year. 65% expect a higher budget compared to only 8% who expect a decrease, followed by respondents from Germany (62% vs 8%) and Spain (55% vs 12%). 52% of travellers from the Netherlands and the UK also expect to spend more, while only 12% and 10% expect to spend less, respectively.

Overall, the number of trips Europeans plan to take in 2025 is also on the rise. 88% of travellers say they expect to take at least one foreign holiday trip next year, in addition to a significant increase in international and domestic business trips.

Turning sustainability intentions into choices

While the survey shows continued optimism from European travellers, it also highlights the need for the travel industry to channel its growth in a sustainable way. Climate change and sustainable options are important to 73% of travellers - up from 71% in the previous survey - including 25% saying these factors are very important (up from 22%).

Travellers in Italy and Germany are most serious about sustainable travel, with 81% considering these factors important, followed by Spain (78%), Poland (77%), France (75%), the Netherlands (67%) and the UK (63%).

Of the changes people say they will make as a result of climate concerns, one in five (20%) will avoid areas with extreme weather conditions. Travellers will also make personal behavioural choices to reduce their negative impact, such as bringing reusable bottles (36%), taking shorter showers to save water (35%), opting for locally grown and/or seasonal produce in restaurants (32%) and choosing independent businesses in local destinations (27%).

Mass tourism

The vast majority of travellers (90%) say problems caused by over-tourism will have some impact on where or how they choose to travel in 2025. A third (31%) say they will refrain from travelling in the peak season to avoid overcrowding. One in four (27%) will avoid destinations that suffer from overtourism and more than one in five (22%) will deliberately choose lesser-known places to travel.

Overcoming barriers

With cost again being the biggest obstacle for consumers to make more positive travel choices, 46% of respondents said a reduction in the surcharge for sustainable options would make them more inclined to reconsider their decisions. Other factors would include having more sustainable options available (36%); being more transparent about the impact of the offer (34%); and being rewarded for choosing more sustainable options (31%).

Respondents also expressed support for possible government actions to encourage greener travel choices, including mirroring Germany's trial of reducing train fares to reduce transport emissions (22%); and banning short-haul flights when more sustainable alternatives are available (16%), such as the ban on domestic short-haul flights introduced in France.

Patrick Mendes, CEO, Premium, Midscale & Economy, Accor Europe & North Africa, said, "Our research clearly confirms that travel remains a top priority for Europeans. This continued momentum brings important opportunities, but also challenges. Travellers are increasingly showing positive intentions, but the industry needs to work harder and faster to turn these into good choices by providing clear, useful alternatives and transparent information, while reducing the impact of activities and carefully focusing on sustainable growth." 

Other key findings of the report include

Continued rise in "workations" 
Expectations of international "workation" travel - combining work and leisure - are rising, from 0.6 per traveller last year to an expectation of 0.87 for 2025. Remarkably, one in four Europeans (25%) now expect to take at least one combined work and leisure trip abroad in 2025, up from 19% in the previous survey. Expectations for domestic work trips also increased, from an average of 0.6 to 0.91 per person. 

Increase budgets
Although travelling is a priority, cost-of-living pressures still affect travel plans, with 88% of respondents taking at least one measure to reduce spending due to higher cost of living. Cost-saving plans include avoiding travelling during peak season (30%), selecting cheaper accommodation (23%) and cheaper destinations (22%); as well as holiday behavioural choices such as taking less luggage on the flight (13%), consuming fewer drinks (9%) and skipping appetisers or desserts at meals (7%).

The return of long-distance travel?
The report suggests that while the number of travellers planning to travel within Europe fell by six percentage points from last year's survey (80% versus 86%), travellers are planning to go to every other part of the world in greater numbers. This includes Asia (22% vs 16%); North and Central America (20% vs 16%); Africa (13% vs 10%); South America (12% vs 8%); and Australia and New Zealand (8% vs 5%).

Click here To download the full report "European Travel 2025: Balancing Growth and Impact": Accor European Travel Trends.