How should hotel companies help to achieve low-carbonization in the tourism industry?

• As the world works towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the hotel industry is well positioned to lead the decarbonization of the travel industry;
• Climate awareness among travelers is increasing, and investments in sustainable hotels often pay for themselves, but how can we accelerate progress towards decarbonization?
• Here are three ways travelers, hotels, and platforms can work together to create more sustainable travel and achieve global net zero goals.

The hotel industry has an unparalleled opportunity to lead the decarbonization of the travel industry.

The joint agreement in the Glasgow Declaration aims for the tourism sector to halve emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. This, combined with growing consumer interest in sustainable travel, lays the foundation for the decarbonization of the tourism industry.

While the ultimate goal is clear, achieving it is not easy. Instead, all industry stakeholders need to understand the actual situation of tourists and accommodation providers.

Consumers want climate-friendly travel options but are concerned that sustainable travel is too expensive amid inflation and rising living costs.

Accommodation service providers – especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – often lack the resources, and sometimes the knowledge, to take the necessary steps to become more sustainable, such as retrofitting ventilation systems, powering rooms with renewable energy or accurately calculating their emissions.

In a recent report, the World Economic Forum explored the question of “ how to create sustainable travel products that customers want .” As shown in the figure below, the “word-action gap” may be the biggest obstacle, but I also believe that climate action can create a flywheel effect on sustainable development.

The talk-action gap is the difference between what you say and what you do. Image: World Economic Forum and Accenture

Any actions taken by tourists, accommodation providers, digital platforms or other actors in the tourism ecosystem, no matter how big or small, can build on and reinforce each other, creating even greater momentum for the net zero agenda.

Here are three ways the hospitality industry, travelers and tourism platforms can work together to make tourism more sustainable:

Understand the reality of tourists

An eight-year survey of more than 33,000 travelers in 35 countries and territories by Booking.com shows that consumers want to travel more sustainably while also needing to be more budget-conscious.

Three quarters (76%) said they hoped to travel more sustainably in the next 12 months, but the same proportion said the global energy crisis and rising living costs had impacted their spending plans.

It’s clear that consumers want the travel industry to make sustainability less expensive. Half (49%) of travelers believe that sustainable travel is too expensive and want discounts and incentives to encourage them to choose climate-friendly travel options (an increase of 12% from 2022), while 42% want reward points (convertible into free benefits) to nudge them to travel more sustainably.

Travel providers also need to make consumers more aware of their sustainable initiatives. Despite good intentions, nearly half (44%) say they don’t know where to find more sustainable initiatives.

Around half (51%) feel they don’t see enough sustainable initiatives, and nearly three-quarters (74%) want travel companies to offer more sustainable initiatives (up from 66% in 2022). Travel industry leaders can and should take action now to address these issues.

Empowering hotel companies to pursue sustainable actions

The other side of the coin is to promote sustainable accommodation. After all, if there are no hotels to provide accommodation services, tourists will not be able to choose sustainable accommodation options.

The accommodation industry produces about 10% of total tourism emissions each year. Although this is a relatively small part, the accommodation industry has a clear advantage over industries such as aviation: it does not rely on technological breakthroughs to reduce emissions. In other words, it is a question of technology adoption rather than technology invention.

It is noteworthy that, in general, 75% of the potential emissions reductions for hotels are related to just three measures: retrofitting high-efficiency heating, ventilation and cooling systems; using energy-efficient appliances; and installing double-glazed windows.

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isual Capitalist/Booking.com

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is already leading these efforts, setting baseline standards for hotels to implement sustainable practices, which will form the basis for future industry standardization.

However, the ability to achieve net zero emissions is not equal across all businesses. WTTC research shows that small and medium-sized businesses find it more difficult to clearly define and pursue decarbonization than large, established brands with greater resources and expertise.

Small hospitality businesses need financial assistance to achieve net zero. At the same time, they also need guidance on how to make their businesses more sustainable.

A recent McKinsey study shows that methods such as the marginal abatement cost curve (MACC) – a calculation method and chart used to measure and compare the costs and benefits of individual sustainability actions – can be very effective in streamlining hotel decarbonization plans.

Matching supply and demand to accelerate action

If the hospitality industry is to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, consumers seeking sustainable solutions and hotel companies providing them must be able to match each other.

This is where online travel platforms are uniquely positioned to do so. Booking.com’s Travel Sustainable initiative is just one example. At Booking.com, we provide an internationally recognized seal to businesses that have adopted independently verified sustainable practices.

For its part, the European Commission’s draft directives on empowering consumers to transition to green and on green claims aim to build public trust in environmental labels and discourage corporate “greenwashing”. Regulatory measures in this area can encourage investment in sustainable development and expand its scale and impact.

Travelers, suppliers, platforms and regulators need to work together to unlock synergies. Here, I think of the old proverb: If you go alone, you go fast; if you go together, you go far.

We must go far and fast on sustainability. Fortunately, many of the tools and technologies are already available to help the tourism industry reach net zero emissions. Now we need to strengthen our will and work together to accelerate progress.

Author of this article:

Peter Lochbihler, Head of Global Public Affairs, Booking.com

This article originally appeared on the World Economic Forum's Agenda blog