Green Traveler Survey

A compreheensive new survey has been published on the profile of the American "green traveler" by Community Marketing INC, from San Francisco.

Some of their findings will be a wake-up call for all tour operators that are targeting this market...

CMI is making the study available for free to the travel trade. Check the PR release below and contact Tom Roth to receive the PDF download.

__________________

WHO IS THE GREEN TRAVELER?

CMIGreen announces travel & tourism industry’s most comprehensive survey of eco-conscious travelers – the First Annual Green Traveler Survey Report.

Study finds many kinds of green travellers, a “green action gap,” environmental practices that “need work”

SAN FRANCISCO – February 9, 2010 – Community Marketing, Inc. (CMI), the market research, strategic consulting, and communications specialists, today announced the release of its CMIGreen 1st Annual Green Traveler Survey Report — the travel industry’s most comprehensive assessment of the sustainable travel consumer.

The Annual Green Traveler Survey Report is the result of a unique, pan-industry cooperative initiative between tourism businesses and non-profit, environmental and sustainable business organizations, from the development of the survey to the interpretation of its findings.

The report is being offered FREE to the tourism and hospitality industries, in order to advance efforts toward greener travel.

To receive a complimentary pdf copy of the 150+ page report, email your request to: report@CMIgreen.com. Include your name, title and organization. You will receive a link to download the pdf of the report, plus updates to the study, and announcements about future initiatives.

In order to help disseminate this important market intelligence throughout the tourism and hospitality industries, please forward this email and link to your colleagues.

Background info:

The CMIGreen study surveyed the purchasing habits, travel behaviour, environmental commitment, expectations and motivations of 1,736 self-defined, eco-conscious travelers to produce the report. “This is not a study about how many people recycle; there is sufficient data on that,” says Thomas Roth, President of Community Marketing. “The Green Traveler Survey Report is a comprehensive profile of green travel consumers, and it fills a need for concrete data on this distinct, desirable niche segment. Until now, no one has had a clear idea about who green travelers are or what they want. The ‘green travel’ niche has been defined mostly by spending figures.”

“Without this data, it has been difficult for tourism and hospitality leaders to understand and serve the interests of this increasingly important segment,” Roth says. “Nor has it been possible to establish consistent standards for sustainable travel. In fact, this study found that consumers are often confused and sceptical about green travel claims, which undermines many marketing initiatives.”

A broad green spectrum of eco-conscious travelers

Among the other key findings in the CMIGreen 1st Annual Green Traveler Survey Report is the broad spectrum of travelers comprising the green travel niche, from business and leisure travelers who participate in hotel recycling and towel re-use programs to voluntourists working on environmental and social development projects in developing countries.

“Marketers, sustainable program designers and other stakeholders at travel and hospitality companies need to understand the green travel spectrum in order to know where their customers fall on it, and what motivates them,” says Roth.

The study also found a gap between what green travelers say and their actual purchasing behaviour, as well as price sensitivity when it came to “green premiums.”

The 1st Annual Green Traveler Survey Report assesses green travelers’ view of the travel industry. While they may be driving sustainable travel industry practices, green travelers do not feel that the industry is very green yet. When asked to evaluate the green initiatives and messaging in each sector of the travel industry, the best answer most respondents could give was “needs work.” Airlines, cruise operators and rental car companies received a substantial number of “terrible” votes from respondents.

Respondents to the study indicated that virtually no “green brands” had emerged as leaders in the sustainable travel niche. “There are few ‘top-of-mind’ greener brands, if any, in any segment of the industry,” says Roth. “That told us that travel suppliers and destinations were failing to differentiate themselves with robust, green practices — and that their branding and messaging could be sharper and more meaningful.”

Green travelers are the future of the travel industry

From carbon offsets to organic restaurants and towel re-use options at hotels, “green travel” is the fastest growing niche in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.

“As the planet continues to heat up and resources become scarcer, every other sector of the economy is going to be adopting sustainable practices — more or less quickly. It makes business--as well as environmental--sense. Eco-conscious travelers are trend-setters in our industry,” Roth says. “The rest of the market will follow.

“This is a critical time in travel and tourism,” Roth says. “In order to avoid a catastrophic meltdown of the industry — whether from government regulation, shifting consumer behavior, or both — the industry has to become authentically greener, and has to communicate that to its customers in a credible way.”

Report a business/non-profit collaboration — available free of charge

Given the travel industry’s impact on the environment — air travel alone accounts for 3-5% of global carbon dioxide emissions — the 1st Annual Green Traveler Survey Report is being released without charge to the travel and tourism industry. “Only with enough data and insight can travel leaders put the truly sustainable programs in place that will let them connect with their green travel customers.”

To receive a complimentary pdf copy of the 150+ page report, email your request to: report@CMIgreen.com. Include your name, title and organization. You will receive a link to download the pdf of the report, plus updates to the study, and announcements about future initiatives.

In order to help disseminate this important market intelligence throughout the tourism and hospitality industries, please forward this email and link to your colleagues.