Eighty-two percent. That’s how many Brits say sustainable travel matters to them. Sounds promising — until you look at what people are actually doing about it.
Booking.com’s 11th annual sustainability report, released this week, reveals a clear generational split. Not in values, exactly, but in how those values translate into behaviour on the ground.
Here’s the thing: Boomers are quietly outperforming younger travellers on the basics. Nearly two-thirds (65%) say they always reduce general waste when travelling, compared to just 43% of Gen Z. Cut energy use — turning off lights, adjusting the AC before leaving the room — and the gap’s similar: 60% of Boomers do it consistently, versus 38% of Gen Z.
But that’s only part of the story.
Gen Z isn’t disengaged. They’re just approaching sustainable travel differently — through culture, conservation, and connection. Around 34% took part in tours focused on local or indigenous cultures over the past year, well ahead of Boomers at 17%. And 22% of Gen Z participated in activities directly supporting local wildlife or ecosystems, versus just 8% of Boomers. So while older travellers tend to sweat the small stuff (waste, energy, the basics), younger ones are drawn to more experiential, conservation-led forms of travel.
Neither approach is wrong. They’re just different expressions of the same concern.
And that concern is getting harder to ignore.
Extreme weather is reshaping travel decisions across every age group. More than half of Brits (54%) now say some destinations are simply too hot to visit when they want to go. One in five has already cancelled or rerouted a trip in the past year because of it. Nearly half — 45% — have crossed certain destinations off their lists entirely, as heatwaves, wildfires, and flooding become more routine than rare.
The sustainable travel movement used to feel like a choice. Increasingly, it’s becoming a necessity.
On accommodation, the generations actually converge. Around a third of travellers in every age bracket plan to stay in a certified sustainable property in the next 12 months — Boomers (33%), Gen X (33%), Millennials (35%), Gen Z (32%). That’s striking consistency.
And the behaviour backs it up. Travellers booked 100 million room nights at third-party certified sustainable properties on Booking.com in 2025 alone. That’s not a trend — that’s a shift.
Danielle D’Silva, Booking.com’s Director of Sustainability, put it plainly: “Adapting to extreme weather and actively avoiding crowds are now norms at all ages.” She pointed to the broad range of ways people are already making changes — and the responsibility the travel industry has to make those choices easier and more accessible.
Worth asking: if sustainable travel is already happening at this scale — across age groups, across booking habits — what does it look like when the infrastructure actually catches up?
That question might define the next decade of travel more than any single statistic.
