Travel Buyer Survey: Sustainability
This survey explores the place environmental sustainability has in a travel program and looks at the role travel management should play in promoting sustainable travel.
The results are based on an online survey of 112 travel buyers conducted from July 11-23, 2023.
Respondent profile
Importance of Sustainability
Stakeholders’ sustainability efforts
Travel buyers identify their companies and senior leaders as the stakeholders paying the most attention to sustainability. 6 in 10 provide high ratings to the sustainability efforts of internal travel departments.
Company sustainability goals
While 8 in 10 travel buyers confirm availability of published sustainability goals in their organizations, less than half have sustainable travelgoals in place.
Sustainability goals
Sustainability goals related to travel
Sustainable travel priorities
Supporting company goals, tracking travel sustainability and reducing the impact of business travel are among the topthree sustainability priorities related to travel: Over two-thirds rate them as extremely or very important.
Challenges of a sustainable travel program
The biggest pain point on the way to a sustainable program is the elevated cost of sustainable travel options: Over half say so. Among other challenges, travel buyers mention traveler education, lack of standard measurement and having access to the right tools.
Sustainable Travel Program
Sustainable travel options
In an attempt to make their travel programs sustainable, more companies reduce their travel volumes. This, along with travel by train, are the top sustainable travel options offered to travelers followed by using direct flights.
Educational material
Of those travel buyers who talk to travelers about sustainability, half use emails, blogposts or articles on the company intranet as the means of communication. Training on sustainable travel isn’t too popular.
Sustainability features of OBTs
While around 4 in 10 of travel buyers report their online booking tool (OBT) has capabilities to show carbon emissions generated by certain suppliers, almost a quarter say their booking tool lacks sustainability related features.
Carbon emissions offsets
Less than a quarter of travel buyers currently offset carbon emissions from travel and 3 in 10 consider doing so. The majority of companies do not provide travelers with a possibility to offset their emissions.
Offsets by employers
Offsets by travelers
Sustainability efforts of travel suppliers
Travel buyers rate airlines’ sustainability efforts as the highest out of the main travel suppliers: 6 in 10 evaluate them as very high or high. Airlines are followed by hotels and Travel Management Companies (TMCs) with 4 in 10 providing high ratings to their sustainability efforts.
Importance of sustainability for supplier selection
For many, sustainability tends to be outside the required criteria when it comes to selecting travel suppliers. 3 in 10 indicate suppliers’ sustainability goals and commitments to be mandatory on the list of items they request.
