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Tourism statistics on the sustainability of vacation travel

Tourism statistics - Facts & figures about vacations 2022/2023

Are you currently looking for Tourism statistics as well as Facts & figures about sustainable travel? Then you've come to the right place. I wanted to find out about the state of the tourism industry myself and have therefore been looking for meaningful facts and figures for some time. I was mainly interested in finding out the potential for a more sustainable travel to discover. Did you know, for example, that 90 percent of people on our planet have never seen the inside of an airplane?₁

In this statistics article, I would like to introduce you to all the important figures about tourism, travel behavior, destinations and much more that I have come across.

  1. Tourism
  2. Vacation destinations
  3. Vacation Behavior
  4. Sustainability
  5. Forecasts
  6. Studies
  7. Closing words

Notice: If you use any of the tourism statistics from this post, please cite the following source. Thank you for your support!

https://www.careelite.de/tourismus-statistiken-fakten-urlaubsreisen

General tourism statistics

Vacation and travel statistics facts and figures

What about the global tourism industry's greenhouse gas emissions? And how powerful is it actually? Here are some facts and figures to help you find out:

Tourism and greenhouse gas emissions

  • The tourism industry accounts for 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.₂
  • A two-week all-inclusive vacation in Mexico for two people generates around 7,218 kilograms of CO2 emitted.₃
  • The average greenhouse gas emissions of a German family from long-distance travel in 2019 were 21,313 kilograms of CO2.₄
  • On an international average, a trip causes about 250 kilograms of CO2.₅

Statistics around the global travel market

  • Out of 7 billion people in the world, only 1 billion go on vacation.₆
  • In 2009, the equivalent of 327 billion euros in revenue was generated worldwide by air passengers. Just ten years later, the figure is around 500 billion euros.₇
  • In 2017, global income from tourism amounted to the equivalent of 1,180 billion euros worldwide. Ten years earlier, it was still around 783 billion euros.₈
  • In the Philippines, the tourism industry accounts for 24.7 percent of the country's total economic output. In Thailand, too, tourism accounts for 21.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product.₉

Vacation destinations - facts and figures

Destination statistics, facts and figures

Where do vacationers particularly like to fly and travel? Here are a few facts and figures about travel destinations for you:

  • In 2018, France was the most popular international travel destination with 93.6 million visitors.₁₀
  • In 1950, there were still around 25 million travel arrivals worldwide. By 2017, this figure had already risen to 1.33 billion.₁₁
  • 19.4 million international tourists visited the Thai capital Bangkok in 2016. 19.1 million holidaymakers also landed in London in the same period.₁₂

Travel behavior - facts and figures

Vacation behavior statistics and figures

Data on the development of holidaymakers' travel behavior is extremely important in order to be able to identify possible trends for the future. Here are some facts and figures:

  • Germans take around 70 million vacation trips per year.₁₃
  • In 2018, there were around 46 million flights in global aviation - and the trend is rising.₁₄
  • In 2018, 2.2 million Germans went on a cruise - putting them at the top of the list. Among European countries, only the British took nearly as many cruises - 2 million.₁₅
  • In 2014, around 21 million people worldwide were on cruise ships - producing 32 liters of wastewater per person every day.₁₆
  • A hotel was used as accommodation for 53 percent of trips worldwide. Around 8 percent stayed in vacation apartments and 5 percent used bed & breakfasts.₁₇
  • 84 percent of all German tourists made a purchase in 2017 Souvenir in the respective vacation country.₁₈
  • In 2018, the average trip duration for German holidaymakers was around 12 days. In 1997, it was still 16 days.₁₉

Statistics on sustainable travel

Sustainability tourism statistics

Here you will find facts and figures on holidaymakers' attitudes to sustainable travel and on the sustainability of travel itself:

  • 70 percent of Germans would like to travel more sustainably - but only 7 percent actually do.₂₁
  • 15 German tourists create about one job in developing and emerging countries.₂₂
  • In 2017, 51% of German holidaymakers preferred a destination that was closer or as far away from home as possible. Only 15 percent preferred a vacation destination that was close or as close as possible to home.₂₃
  • For 75 percent of Germans, a respectful approach to the local culture is particularly important when traveling sustainably.₂₄
  • 71 percent of Germans think a significantly higher tax on flight tickets and the associated price increase would be a good climate protection measure.₂₅
  • The average ticket price in global air travel in 2011 was still 549 euros. In 2018, passengers only had to pay an average of 331 euros.₂₆

Notice: You can find all the facts about greenhouse gas emissions in tourism in this article above! I can also warmly recommend the article on Zero Waste Journey where you can learn how to avoid waste on vacation.

Forecast Tourism Facts & Figures

Travel statistics forecast Tourimus

You could also call this section the answer to the question "Why should you travel sustainably?". Here you will learn some statistics about the future of the tourism industry that make it clear that a rethink needs to take place immediately:

  • By 2030, there will be around 1.8 billion tourists around the world every year.₂₇
  • The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) expects an annual growth rate of 4.8 percent in civil passenger air traffic by 2036.₂₈
  • Despite increasing efficiency, energy consumption in tourism is expected to double by 2040.₂₉
  • By 2050, water consumption in tourism is expected to double from 138 km³ in 2010 to 265 km³ in 2050.₃₀
  • If we do not learn from our mistakes, land consumption due to tourism will almost triple from around 62,000 k㎡ in 2015 to around 178,700 k㎡ by 2050.₃₁₁

The best tourism studies with meaningful statistics

Forecasts statistics on the future of the vacation

For these travel statistics, I have used many articles but also some scientific studies that are regularly updated. If you are looking for more facts and figures about the travel industry, you might find them here:

Question: Do you have any other studies at hand? Then write me a comment with your tip!

Use tourism statistics for education!

I hope that the facts and figures about travel destinations, travel behavior and, above all, sustainability in tourism will help you. Share the statistics to raise awareness of the impact of unconscious travel behavior in our society.

Do you have any questions, suggestions or other tourism statistics that I should definitely include here? Then just write a short comment below this article.

Stay sustainable,

Living plastic-free - Less plastic waste in the environment

PS.: In the Statistics Blog I have compiled many more figures for you in addition to the tourism facts. For example, take a look at the Statistics on plastic waste or the Vegetarian numbers an.

If you use any of the tourism statistics from this post, please cite the following source. Thank you for your support!

https://www.careelite.de/tourismus-statistiken-fakten-urlaubsreisen

References:

₁ Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e.V. (BUND): The true cost of flying: climate killer. https://www.bund.net/mobilitaet/infrastruktur/luftverkehr/co2-emissionen. [09.03.2020].

₂,₅,₂₈ WWF Germany: Overfishing: Sustainability in tourism - your vacation and climate change (as of 08.12.2016). https://www.wwf.de/aktiv-werden/tipps-fuer-den-alltag/umweltvertraeglich-reisen/tourismus-und-klimawandel. [10.03.2020].

₃ German Environment Agency; WWF: Greenhouse gas emissions per person and trip (as of 2009). https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/bild/treibhausgas-emissionen-pro-person-reise. [11.03.2020].

₄ Statista GmbH: Sustainable travel (as at: 2020). https://de.statista.com/statistik/studie/id/44133/dokument/nachhaltiges-reisen. [10.03.2020].

₆,₁₃ WWF Germany: Environmental pollution through tourism? Better to travel sustainably! | WWF Germany. YouTube, 28.07.2016, Web, 10.03.2020 at 21:50, in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrtvGoi0THY.

₇ Statista GmbH: Global air passenger revenue from 2004 to 2020 (as of December 2019). https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/4366/umfrage/weltweiter-umsatz-mit-passagieren-im-flugverkehr. [10.03.2020].

₈ Statista GmbH: Worldwide tourism revenues from 2000 to 2018 (as of August 2019). https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/187764/umfrage/weltweite-einnahmen-im-tourismus-seit-2000. [10.03.2020].

₉,₁₀,₁₇,₂₆ Statista GmbH: Overtourism (as at: 2019). https://de.statista.com/statistik/studie/id/67364/dokument/overtourism. [10.03.2020].

₁₁ Statista GmbH: Worldwide tourism volume by number of travel arrivals in the years 1950 to 2019 (as of January 2020). https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/37123/umfrage/weltweites-tourismusaufkommen-nach-reiseankuenften-seit-1950. [10.03.2020].

₁₂ I. Eisele; Deutsche Welle: Die Schattenseiten des Tourismus (as of: 20.08.2018), available at https://www.dw.com/de/die-schattenseiten-des-tourismus/a-45143568. [10.03.2020].

₁₄ Statista GmbH (2018): Number of flights in global aviation from 2014 to 2018 (as of 2019). https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/411620/umfrage/anzahl-der-weltweiten-fluege. [10.03.2020].

₁₅ Statista GmbH (2019): Number of European passengers on cruise ships in 2017 and 2018 by country of origin (as of 2019). https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/28815/umfrage/europaeische-passagiere-auf-kreuzfahrtschiffen-nach-herkunftsland. [10.03.2020].

₁₆ WWF Germany: Environmental pollution through tourism? Better to travel sustainably! | WWF Germany. YouTube, 28.07.2016, Web, 10.03.2020 at 21:50, in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrtvGoi0THY.

₁₈ Statista GmbH: Proportion of travelers who buy souvenirs on vacation by country of origin in 2017 (as of August 2017). https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/742932/umfrage/kaufbereitschaft-von-souvenirs-europaeischer-urlauber. [10.03.2020].

₁₉ Statista GmbH: Average duration of vacations taken by German travelers from 1997 to 2019 (as of February 2020). https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/246124/umfrage/durschnittliche-reisedauer-deutscher-urlauber. [10.03.2020].

₂₁ Norddeutscher Rundfunk; Tagesschau: #kurzerklärt: Sustainable travel - how does it work? YouTube, 28.06.2019, Web, 10.03.2020 at 21:53, in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ey0VzJqI8Y.

₂₂ Bundesverband der Deutschen Tourismuswirtschaft e.V. (BTW): Figures, data and facts, available at https://www.die-tourismuswirtschaft.de/was-wir-leisten/zahlen-und-fakten. [10.03.2020].

₂₃,₂₄,₂₅ Statista GmbH: Sustainable travel (as at: 2020). https://de.statista.com/statistik/studie/id/44133/dokument/nachhaltiges-reisen. [10.03.2020].

₂₇ /e-politik.de/ e.V. i.L.: WissensWerte: Tourismus und Nachhaltigkeit. YouTube, 06.01.2015, Web, 10.03.2020 at 22:10, in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYSkBldlQrY.

₂₉,₃₀,₃₁ Bread for the World; Tourism Watch: An assessment of the resource use of tourism - scenarios of an unsustainable future (as of 18.09.2015). https://www.tourism-watch.de/de/schwerpunkt/eine-bewertung-der-ressourcennutzung-des-tourismus. [11.03.2020].

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Christoph Schulz

Christoph Schulz

I'm Christoph, an environmental scientist and author - and here at CareElite I'm campaigning against plastic waste in the environment, climate change and all the other major environmental problems of our time. Together with other environmentally conscious bloggers, I want to give you tips & tricks for a naturally healthy, sustainable life as well as your personal development.

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