Sustainable travel is no longer a niche concern

When Holiday Extras first surveyed travellers on sustainability in 2024, it was already an emerging priority. By January 2026, the picture has sharpened: more than half of UK travellers now rate sustainability as at least 'quite important' when booking a holiday — and the proportion calling it 'very important' has nearly doubled. This report unpacks what that shift means in practice, where travellers look for guidance, and how providers like Holiday Extras are uniquely placed to help.

The findings presented here draw on a January 2026 survey of UK adult travellers who have flown from a UK airport within the last two years. Respondents were asked about their general sustainable behaviours, the role of sustainability in holiday booking decisions, which elements of a trip they prioritise for environmental impact, and what information they would find most useful from travel providers. Where comparisons are drawn to 2024 data, these reflect the broader tracking study of which this wave forms part.

How the research was conducted

The January 2026 wave of Holiday Extras' sustainable travel tracker surveyed a sample of UK adults who have flown from a UK airport for business or leisure. Data were collected online in January 2026.

Saving energy and cutting plastic dominate everyday sustainable behaviour

Before examining travel-specific attitudes, we asked respondents which sustainable choices matter to them in everyday life. The results reveal a hierarchy of concern that travel providers should understand — and one headline finding that the industry rarely spotlights.

Saving energy — from home efficiency to reduced heating and water use — was selected by every single respondent in this wave. That unanimous result makes it the most universally shared sustainable behaviour in the dataset, yet it rarely features in travel providers' sustainability messaging. Cutting down on plastic usage was the second most common choice (73%), followed by recycling packaging and appliances (53%). These three behaviours form the core of what UK travellers consider 'being sustainable' in their daily lives.

The prevalence of energy-saving and plastic-reduction habits suggests that travellers arrive with an established sustainability mindset. The challenge for travel providers is to translate that mindset into travel-specific actions — something the following chapters explore in detail.

Sustainable travel importance has grown sharply since 2024

Comparing January 2026 data with the 2024 tracker wave reveals a meaningful shift: the proportion of travellers calling sustainability 'very important' when booking a holiday has nearly doubled, from 16% to 27%. More than half of all travellers now rate it at least 'quite important'.

This is the headline shift in the 2026 data. While a significant minority — 27% of respondents — remain neutral about sustainability in holiday booking, and a smaller group (13%) are actively uninterested, the direction of travel is clear. The 'very important' group has grown substantially, and the combined 'quite important' and 'very important' segments now account for over half the sample.

It is important to note that a meaningful minority remains neutral or disengaged: 27% of respondents said sustainability was 'neither important nor unimportant', and 13% said 'quite unimportant'. This segment should not be written off — neutral travellers may be responsive to well-framed, practical sustainability information at the point of booking, even if they would not proactively seek it out.

Getting to the airport tops the sustainability agenda ?? and Holiday Extras can help

When travellers rank which elements of a trip they most want to address for sustainability, how they get to the airport comes out on top — and how they get around at their destination comes a close second. Both are areas where Holiday Extras provides direct solutions.

Respondents were asked to rank seven travel factors from 1 (most important to address for sustainability) to 7 (least important). Lower scores indicate higher priority. Across the sample, travel methods to and from the airport received the lowest mean rank (approximately 3.5), making it the top sustainability priority. Travel methods around the destination ranked second (mean approximately 3.6). These findings replicate the broad pattern seen in 2024, with airport transfers climbing from second to first place.

Note: bar lengths represent mean rank scores scaled for visualisation (lower raw score = shorter bar = higher priority). The airline's sustainability credentials ranked last (mean approximately 5.3), suggesting travellers feel less empowered to act on airline-level environmental performance than on factors closer to their own choices.

Accommodation sustainability credentials also scored competitively (mean approximately 3.5), sitting alongside airport transport at the top of the rankings. This is relevant context for Q7 and Q8 data explored in the next chapter, where hotel ratings feature prominently in information requests.

Travellers want destination guidance and local spending tips above all else

When it comes to information from travel providers, travellers are clearest about what would actually change their behaviour: they want to understand the environmental pressures at their destination, and they want to know how to spend their money in the local community. Emissions data is useful to many — but a significant minority would not engage with it.

Q8 asked which types of information respondents would want to receive to help them travel more sustainably. 'The top environmental pressures at your destination and how you can minimise your impact' was the most commonly selected option (9/15, 60%). 'Tips on how to spend money in the local community' came second (8/15, 53%), followed by 'Ethical credentials of different destinations' (5/15, 33%) and 'More information on recycling on holiday' (5/15, 33%).

In Q7, we asked how useful specific data types would be at the point of booking. Environmental ratings for hotels scored highest for 'very useful' or 'quite useful' combined, followed closely by CO2 emissions per passenger and fuel emissions for transfers. However, emissions data is not universally welcomed: 4 of 15 respondents (27%) said CO2 per passenger data was 'not something I'd use'. Providers should make emissions information available but not mandatory in the booking flow.

Travellers name a handful of brands for green credentials — and want more

When asked to name travel companies with strong environmental values, responses were sparse and scattered — suggesting significant white space for providers willing to build and communicate a credible sustainability proposition.

Q6 asked respondents to name any travel companies they associate with strong environmental values. The majority either could not name one or left the question blank. Of those who did respond, TUI and British Airways were the most commonly cited, each mentioned by two respondents. Other mentions included Jet2holidays, Booking.com, Expedia, Absolute Escape, Go Tours UK, and Hays Travel — each named once. No single brand dominated. Several respondents explicitly stated they could not think of one.

Q6 — Travel companies cited for environmental values

The open-text responses to Q9 — asking what else providers could do — were similarly limited in volume but rich in direction. Respondents mentioned wanting carbon footprint breakdowns with greener alternatives, positive destination recommendations, and practical verification data. One respondent explicitly noted the importance of affordable travel with good value for money alongside sustainability — a reminder that green credentials must be paired with commercial accessibility to resonate broadly.

Q9 — What else could travel providers do to help you travel more sustainably?

What this means for Holiday Extras and the wider travel industry

The 2026 data points to a clear set of strategic opportunities. Travellers are more motivated than ever, more specific about what they need, and largely underserved by current provider communications.

About Holiday Extras

Holiday Extras is the UK's leading provider of airport travel services, including airport hotels, car parking, lounges, and transfers. Every year, millions of travellers trust Holiday Extras to take care of the start and end of their trip.

This research was commissioned by Holiday Extras to track evolving attitudes to sustainability among UK travellers, and to identify where travel providers can best support more responsible travel choices.

The January 2026 survey represents the second wave of an ongoing tracking study. Comparisons to 2024 data are drawn from the first wave of the same tracker.

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