Sustainable and regenerative tourism research
Access insights on sustainable and regenerative tourism sourced from a range of VisitBritain and VisitEngland projects and data.
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These reports highlight insights on the importance of travelling sustainably for both inbound and domestic travellers to the UK, as well as global perceptions of the UK’s sustainability attributes.
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Sustainable travel among international travellers
This report explores attitudes towards sustainable tourism among prospective visitors to England and Scotland, including the demand for sustainable travel experiences and the key motivators and barriers shaping travel decisions.
Report highlights (2025)
- Sustainability remains a mainstream factor in travel choice impacting the decision of around half of international travellers when choosing travel service providers, rising to around two‑thirds when selecting a destination, showing it plays a meaningful role across the customer journey.
- Growth in sustainability-led choice is driven by North America and younger travellers while the influence of sustainability amongst European travellers has remained broadly stable.
- Participation in sustainable behaviours is widespread, with potential to further broaden engagement especially with behaviours that require deeper involvement and commitment, such as volunteering or supporting local communities.
- Travellers are open to adapting their behaviours and are willing to pay more, but with limits. They are less willing to sacrifice experiences entirely or avoiding destinations altogether.
- Overall, the report indicates a high level of interest in sustainable travel, and a desire to engage with the issue throughout the customer journey.
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Sustainable travel among international travellers
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Domestic Sentiment Tracker: Sustainability
This report is sourced from the Domestic Sentiment Tracker (for more details please see 'Related resources' below) and explores the importance of travelling sustainably for UK adults, as well as sustainable actions they have taken in their own lives.
Report highlights (March 2026)
- Over a fifth (22%) of UK adults say climate change influences their holiday choices to a large or very large extent, unchanged from the same period of March last year, with younger adults more likely to be influenced.
- 29% of UK adults claimed to have specifically looked for sustainable holiday accommodation, of whom 73% said it is easy to find sustainable options in England.
- The proportion agreeing with the statement “Sustainable travel is really important to me” rose from 28% in October 2023 to 31% in March 2026, showing a steady increase in engagement over time.
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Domestic Sentiment Tracker - Sustainability Mar 26
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Domestic Sentiment Tracker - Sustainability Oct 25
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Domestic Sentiment Tracker - Sustainability Mar 25
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Nation Brands Index: Sustainability (2023)
In 2023, the Anholt Nation Brands Index study ranked 60 nations on a range of attributes including those relating to tourism, culture, and people. In that year, five new sustainability attributes were added.
Report highlights
- Although the UK ranked 4th in the overall NBI in 2023, it ranked lower in the statements that focussed on sustainability topics (between 10th and 13th).
- The UK ranked closely across all attributes, receiving the highest rank for Clean Water (equal 10th with another nation) and climate change (11th).
- Across markets, Turkey and India ranked the UK in the top ten across all attributes. China and South Africa followed a similar pattern but ranked the UK poorly on Responsible Industry and Wildlife; respectively.
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MIDAS project: Sustainability (2022)
The large-scale project MIDAS (Motivations, Influences, Decisions and Sustainability in a Post-Pandemic Era) explored the importance of sustainability among international travellers. Here you can see a brief extract covering this topic.
Report highlights
- Sustainability was identified as an emerging driver of importance in destination selection for international tourists, most relevant to younger travellers.
- Nine in ten travellers claimed to have engaged in sustainable tourism behaviours, illustrating strong emotional engagement and positive endorsement.
- The perceived cost of sustainable choices was the most significant barrier when it came to sustainable travel behaviour.
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