Dilemma puts sustainable development in the tourism industry under pressure

Danes generally want more information about sustainable choices. New figures show that we forget about good intentions when choosing the next holiday. Only one in five Danes gives sustainability great or crucial importance when choosing a holiday. This short-circuits innovation in the industry, because it is difficult to deliver new sustainable offers to a market that is difficult to decode. There is only one answer. That is to get started. And the smart ones can do it before Danes start shopping for summer holidays again in January.

By: Birgitte Pedersen, FutureComm, Elisbeth Kjær Tejlmand, Tejlmand Kommunikation and Jacob Høgild, Human Engage.

We have left the summer behind us - and right now many have gone on autumn holidays. Holidays that give us renewed energy. Time we can look back on with presence, peace and new memories created with our loved ones.

But we Danes forget all conversations about the climate crisis, biodiversity crisis, plastic in the oceans and much more when we choose a vacation.

A study conducted just before the summer of 2024 by Human Engage shows that sustainable choices do not have a major influence when we Danes choose a vacation type.

Figure 1: Sustainability when choosing a vacation type. Source: Human Engage

This is bad news for the planet. But also for companies, which find themselves in a vacuum between high political expectations and lack of customer demand. However, only companies can fill that vacuum and accelerate innovation.

Make sustainability manageable and understandable

One of the challenges is the Danes' widely differing understanding of sustainability.

This calls for a more thorough analysis of the target groups in the companies' markets. But the figures also indicate potential for those who undertake to take the new path and explain it to the outside world.

Figure 2: Danes' perceptions of what sustainability is. Source Human Engage

Whether you supply toilet paper to hotels - or whether you ensure that waste is sorted in and around the resort. You have a part of the responsibility to educate and inform about what you do. Who your company is - and how you contribute to Denmark's goal of a lower climate footprint and more responsibility in general.

The task is to make sustainability more concrete and manageable. What kind of sustainability are you proposing - simply and precisely?

Data-driven innovative ecosystem collaboration is the key to success

Your company is part of an ecosystem in a business-to-business-to-consumer-to-society perspective. This is where the solution lies. You must be able to look at the entire system - and that everyone in it, together, must take their starting point from consumers and society.

Figure 3: Partnerships and trust-based collaboration for development and learning. Source FutureComm

And consumers are demanding the information. They want your company to be active in their learning. This is shown by another study. “63% of consumers want brands to play an active role in their learning about sustainable products.” (Capgemini, December 2023)

Here lies the seed of new data-driven, planet-friendly growth for companies that dare to step forward and clearly communicate to customers, consumers and society what it is they are getting.

The sustainable choice is not reason-to-go - but rather reason-to-stay and reason-to-tell.

With documented claims, you must take responsibility for showing that you are on the right track. That you have ambitions and a real will to pursue and fulfill your ambitions.

The winners of new market shares will be the companies that first fill the vacuum and come together in chain collaborations, document their impact and communicate it to their customers.

Then the customers come – and they are also willing to pay the price.

Also see our column in Erhverv+

Facts about the study: See the entire study:

Human Engage - Rapport - Bæredygtighed - Juni 2024.pdf

Download PDF • 397KB

- The survey was conducted as an online questionnaire in a Danish consumer panel.

- Data was collected in May to June 2024.

- The target group for the study is a representative sample of people in Denmark aged 18+.

- The net sample for the study amounts to a total of 3,000 interviews.

Source: Human Engage