Good for Business, Good for the Community. Good for Climate.

A photo of public transportation and people biking on a street.
Chris Adams in Japan
by Chris Adams
Head of Research & Insights

The 2024 Sustainability and Stewardship webinar, powered by the State of the American Traveler, highlighted how a partisan political environment and highly fragmented media are creating challenges in our public understanding of the climate crisis. The percentage of American travelers agreeing with the statement “Human activity is responsible for climate change” dropped to a five-year low in late 2024, with only 60% agreeing. The biggest increase was in those answering “Not sure,” indicating a general uncertainty among travelers about this topic. Clearly, we need new ways of discussing climate change and the importance of action. 

This is a longer-term challenge. For the immediate future (and especially in areas where climate change has been politicized) the best way to gather support for climate change action may be to refocus the conversation on the many other benefits of these programs. As our Guide to Action on Climate Change highlights, many of the key actions on climate change are also very clearly good for business and good for the community. Deftly side-stepping terms like “climate change” that can be politically charged is often the smartest way of continuing or expanding action—without it becoming a ‘hot button’ issue. 

Climate Action Strategies: Good for Business & Good for the Community 

In areas from public transport to single-use plastics, EV charging to food waste, tourism can reduce its carbon footprint while highlighting how these efforts are good for business and good for the community. Here are four examples of ways to take positive climate action: 

Increasing Public Transportation Use

The pandemic saw a dramatic drop in public transportation use. In many cities, these numbers have not fully recovered. Visitors provide additional business to these municipal services. Making it simple and easy for visitors to use public transit is not only good for the environment, but also good for public transportation agencies. In turn, the increased funding supports more frequent service for locals, which eases traffic and parking congestion.

A photo of buildings and public transportation in Auckland.

Auckland, New Zealand is the latest city (along with London, and New York)  to introduce contactless payment on public transportation using any debit or credit card, including mobile payment options. This makes it simple and easy for visitors to use public transportation.

Reducing Plastic Waste 

The biggest concern of American travelers when thinking about their environmental impact is plastic waste. Hundreds of cities, counties and even countries around the world have introduced bans on single-use plastics. These bans usually focus on single-use plastic bags, but jurisdictions increasingly encourage refillable water bottles and other actions to dramatically reduce the use of single-use plastics  Tourism can readily support and educate visitors on these bans—which are generally effective in reducing litter and pollution and are almost always highly popular with local residents.  

A graphic showcasing American travelers considering environmental and community impact that travel has.

Investing in Electric Vehicle Charging Stations 

Road trips travelers using an EV are often affluent, frequent, high-spending visitors. However, our research with Longwoods International in August 2024 highlighted that more than 8/10 (85%) of these highly attractive visitors have significant concerns about charging their vehicles when traveling. One problem area is in the hospitality segment—less than a quarter of U.S. hotels offer EV charging. As our article How Tourism Can Pave the Way for the Electric Vehicle Revolution emphasizes, tourism should be leading in the rollout of EV charging, if only because it is good for business and good for the community. 

A photo of an electric vehicle driving through a road.

Our August 2024 research highlighted that over one in five U.S. travelers have used an EV on an overnight road trip—yet 85% have some type of concern about where and how to charge an EV. 

Managing Food Waste

Tourism and hospitality, including conferences and events, can generate a lot of wasted food, which is bad for the environment and bad for business. As our Guide to Action on Climate Change highlights, an increasing number of destinations have implemented successful policies to minimize food waste through smarter catering and supporting food donation and composting. These programs can reduce industry costs, support local nonprofits and generate valuable fertilizers for local residents and farmers.

By taking steps to reduce waste and encourage sustainable practices among residents and visitors, the tourism industry can take a leading role in fighting the negative impact of climate change—and that’s good for business and good for the community.

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