Germans travel more sustainably, demand still at low level – env min

Germans’ holidays have become more sustainable, but the demand for offers with an eco-label, or for CO2 compensation is still at a low level, said the environment ministry based on a report by the tourism industry research group ‘Forschungsgemeinschaft Urlaub und Reisen’. While the demand for sustainable travel exists, environment minister Steffi Lemke called for the “attractive arrival and departure options by public transport and information on sustainable leisure activities and climate-friendly accommodation.” The report shows that the share of trips with CO2 offsetting rose from 2 to 9 percent for longer holidays (five days or more) and from 6 to 17 percent for short holidays since the last survey in 2018/19. Carbon offsets are considered widely controversial.

The ministry cautioned that these developments were influenced by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and only the next few years would show whether demand and framework conditions set by the government were sufficient for the desired transformation to more sustainable holiday travel. Climate action is set to play an increasingly important role in the travel industry, said the German Travel Association (DRV). “I'm sure the CO₂ footprint will become a decisive competitive factor when it comes to travel,” the lobby group's president Norbert Fiebig said this week. The travel industry is also grappling with the energy crisis, inflation and the effects of the ongoing war in Ukraine, but the past year has shown that Germans’ demand for travel has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, Fiebig said.