According to the newly released Sustainable Travel Index 2023, Europe dominates sustainable travel ranking list taking the top 17 places.
Sweden continues to top the chart, with Finland second and Austria in third. South American destination, Uruguay, has made the top 20 for the first time, moving up 15 places from the previous year.
Egypt and the Maldives are the most improved countries over the last five year. Egypt has outshone other markets by building resilient tourism, helped by its recovery after travel bans and the pandemic, and driving up average spend per arrival to increase value creation through tourism for the benefit of local communities.
The study also reveals that nearly 80% of the travelers will pay at least 10 percent more for sustainable travel features, despite the cost of living crisis, with 41% of travelers prepared to pay more than 30% extra for adventure and eco-tourism.
Melbourne tops sustainable city destination charts
Melbourne stands at the top of the sustainability pillar for Top City Destinations Index with an ambitious target to reach net zero emissions by 2040. It is followed by Spain’s Madrid and Seville, part of the Net Zero Cities initiative in the EU that includes 112 European cities in total.
Melbourne’s sustainability successes are wide-ranging, from retro- fitting buildings to reduce their carbon footprint and transition to renewables, to greening streets, along with hosting carbon neutral events.
In terms of sustainable tourism demand, Australia, Iceland and New Zealand are the top three destinations. As long-haul destinations, Australia and New Zealand benefit from the high length of stay and New Zealand also flies the flag for regenerative tourism, going further and deeper than mere sustainability, leaving a positive legacy for generations to come aiming to give back.
Startups could help pave the way for ‘greener and cleaner travel’
The Sustainable Travel Index uses 56 indicators across seven pillars – Environmental, Social, Economic, Risk, Demand, Transport and Lodgings – determining the comparative performance of sustainable travel and tourism for 99 countries through scores and weightings to produce an overall ranking.
