UNABATED DEMAND FOR TRAVEL
However, even if travellers are mindful of the disruptive effects of climate change on tourism, demand for travel remains unabated. The number of air travel passengers will cross 5 billion for the first time in 2025, according to the International Air Transport Association.
In Japan, despite reports of bad weather in 2023, visitor arrivals rose in 2024 through the summer and spring seasons. Overcrowding at Mount Fuji remains a bugbear. To tackle it, local authorities have restricted entrance times and doubled tolls for popular trails.
Moreover, travellers continue to make advance bookings to popular destinations that have suffered bouts of extreme weather. Sabre booking data for 2025 rank Thailand and Spain – which respectively experienced heatwaves and floods in 2024 – in the top destinations booked by “early bird” travellers.
DISILLUSIONMENT ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
Such unabated travel demand may have to do with growing feelings of disillusionment and futility about climate change. A study conducted by Booking.com in February 2024 revealed that 28 per cent of respondents were tired of hearing about climate change all the time, and one-third of respondents felt that the damage done to the environment is irreversible.
The report also found a disconnect between wanting to travel sustainably and actually doing so. Some 28 per cent of respondents said sustainable travel is important to them, but is not a primary consideration when planning or booking a trip.
