British tourism trade association, UKinbound, have published their latest July Business Barometer survey, on 14 August 2019; covering May and June 2019. The online and telephone survey asked Members about their sustainability practices. The results reveal that over 81% of tourism firms think it is important, or very important, for their firms to minimise their environmental impact.
The July Business Barometer survey can be accessed here. UKinbound’s Business Barometer bimonthly survey sets a benchmark for trade conditions and industry confidence among inbound UK tourism firms, as well as, exploring hot topics of the day. The diagram shows the sector breakdown of survey respondents:
Business Barometer Membership survey (source: UKinbound)
The results show that 59% of tourism firm Members who took part in the survey, have reduced single use plastics, 49% have reduced their carbon footprint, and 1 in 5 use renewable energy. Further, 40% of respondents said that they are working with environmentally-friendly partners, have green champions in the workplace, and are recycling and reducing food waste.
The July survey asked UKinbound Members, ‘what kinds of initiatives/activities
does your business, and the products/services you provide, focus on to be more environmentally friendly? (Source: UKinbound).
UKinbound, established in 1977, is the only trade association that represents the interests of the UK’s inbound tourism sector, with over 400 tourism companies across the UK (link).
in the survey, have reduced single use plastics,
Commenting on the latest survey results, Joss Croft, CEO of UKinbound highlighted“It is great to know that our Members care deeply about the environment, and are taking positive action to minimise the impact of their businesses and clients. After all – it is in all our interests to nurture and take care of our beautiful landscapes, cities, towns and villages, as this is one of the main reasons why the majority of international tourists visit the UK.”
The July Business Barometer also asked Members to feedback regarding commercial operating conditions during May and June. The results show that 75% of firms say that bookings, visitor numbers and customer orders were the same, or higher, than in the same months in 2018. Yields were also the same, or up, for 84% of firms during the same timescale. China and America continue to be the leading growth markets, with 43% of respondents experiencing growth from one of the two. France and Germany continue to be the two most in decline markets, with 29% of respondents experiencing decline from one of the two.
from one of the two, highlights the survey (source: UKinbound).
