Assessment of Responsible Travel Behaviours of Long-Haul Travellers to Europe

This study, commissioned by the European Travel Commission (ETC) and conducted by Kairos Future, combines a 3,000-respondent survey (500 per market), qualitative analysis of traveller conversations, and an AI-assisted review of editorial media across six source markets: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan and the United States. The project, which has been carried out in late 2025, repeats a baseline study conducted in 2024 to track changes over time.

Headline findings

• All four survey-based indices rose in 2025 versus the 2024 baseline (index 100): travel green 108, go off the beaten track 106, love local 105, travel off-season 102. These improvements have taken place despite sustainability having relatively less public attention than it used to, which is a development reflected in the study’s media analysis component.
• Intention–behaviour gaps remain small but visible for off-season (4 percentage points) and off-track (5 percentage points). Love local and travel green show no measurable gap.
• Practical friction remains a barrier. Qualitative analysis of online travel conversations identifies uncertainty about seasonality, fragmented rail-booking systems and EV charging logistics as reasons travellers do not always act on stated intentions. Price sensitivity also shapes choices.

What this means

The findings suggest travellers are increasingly open to small, feasible adjustments that reduce tourism pressure – for example, choosing local accommodation, planning slower itineraries or using rail where convenient. At the same time, practical frictions such as seasonal uncertainty, fragmented rail booking and EV logistics risk preventing intentions from becoming behaviour.

This project is co-funded by the European Union.