October 20th, 2022, Janice Fernandes
In a series of articles, we’re detailing how consumers view the efforts of various industries to reduce their impact on the environment. While there’s a significant increase in the proportion of consumers who think online retailers aren’t doing enough, automotive brands have managed to maintain a steady share of consumers who think they are doing enough. But what does global consumer perception about hotels and airlines look like?
According to year-over-year trended data from a global YouGov poll – conducted in 17 markets in 2021, and 18 markets in 2022 – only one in ten global respondents continues to think that airlines are doing enough (11%). But the perception of hotels doing enough to protect the environment has dropped two points in the last year (14% in 2021 vs. 12% in 2022). In both cases, a plurality of consumers believe that neither of the industries is doing enough to fight climate change (43% for airlines and 32% for hotels), with the proportion saying this rising over the past year.
Like global respondents some of the individual markets don’t register any change in opinion that airlines’ efforts to reduce carbon footprint is enough – UAE (28%), Australia (14%), Singapore (9%) and Britain (6%).
The US is the only market to register an increase in consumers who say airlines are doing the right amount to help the environment (12% in 2021 vs. 14% in 2022).
While fewer Britons say airlines are doing a fair amount but could do more (17% vs. 16%), there is also a drop in the share of those who think airlines are not doing enough (57% vs. 55%).
Data indicates that the French are dissatisfied with the way airlines are moving towards minimizing their impact on the environment. While there’s a slight decrease in consumers who say airlines are doing enough (6% vs. 5%), “doing a fair bit but could do more” registers a 9-point drop (28% vs. 19%).
Compared to airlines, the hotel industry is perceived in a much more positive light when it comes to the care it takes of the environment. However, this figure also sees a dip over the last one – 14% vs.12% and 36% vs. 31% respectively.
UAE continues to outpace the global audience and registers a slight increase in consumers who think hotels are doing enough to minimize their impact on the environment (26% in 2021 vs. 27% in 2022), the only market to register an uptick.
While the rest of the markets see a drop in consumer confidence in hotels doing enough to reduce their carbon footprint, US and Australia remain unmoved (15% both).
Britons are the least likely to say hotels are doing enough with a further two-point drop this year (9% vs. 7%). However, France registers the most significant decline in consumers who pick ‘doing enough’ (12% vs. 9%). This suggests that like with airlines, the French are not satisfied with the way hotels are handling sustainability.
Singapore registers a significant increase in consumers picking ‘don’t know’ (16% in 2021 vs. 22% in 2022) suggesting hotels need to offer more information and transparency about their sustainability efforts, where it exists.
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2022 Methodology: YouGov RealTime Omnibus provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The latest data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 515 and 2,082 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in July 2022. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov RealTime Omnibus.
2021 Methodology: YouGov RealTime Omnibus provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 585 to 2,018 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in July 2021. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov RealTime Omnibus.