Chinese boost green credentials traveling abroad

Chinese people have an intense awareness of eco-friendly traveling and 83 percent of them consider themselves as sustainable travelers, a key industry survey found.

The number of travelers staying in an eco-friendly or "green" accommodation at least once could rise this year in China with 98 percent of Chinese travelers expressing their intention to do so, compared with 65 percent of global travelers expressing that intention, according to findings released by the Sustainable Travel Report.

The report was released by Booking.com, part of the Priceline Group which is an international player in booking accommodation online.

The research found that in China, 69 percent considered staying in eco-friendly accommodation as sustainable travel, topping a list of what travelers think when they hear the term.

"Just as where we stay on holiday plays a pivotal role in the enjoyment of our trip, so it also plays an increasingly important role in helping people to travel sustainably," said Pepijn Rijvers, chief marketing officer at Booking.com.

"Whether by serving locally grown food, using or selling local crafts, conserving water and energy, recycling or connecting guests with the local community, accommodation today works on a range of sustainability efforts and it's heartening to see travelers so keen to explore and embrace these," he said.

The report additionally found that the vast majority of Chinese travelers would be more than happy to accept making more expensive pricing adjustments in order to stay somewhere eco-friendly.

It also found that Chinese travelers expected that their accommodation could serve the eco-friendly facilities, utilize advanced technologies and make efforts to realize sustainable travel.

The term "sustainable travel" means not only resource conservation. For many, sustainable travel is also synonymous with a more authentic, local experience.

The report found that about 35 percent Chinese travelers perceived the buying of locally-made products and supporting local artisans as sustainable travel, while 49 percent would choose eco-friendly accommodation.

For 98 percent of those surveyed, sustainable considerations also impacted Chinese people's mode of transport when traveling. The report found 71 percent preferred taking public transport whenever possible, 46 percent opted for waking, biking or hiking as much as possible and more than a third aimed to fly less to reduce their carbon footprint.

wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn