According to Booking.com’s 11th annual Travel and Sustainability Report, climate change and congestion have become the primary drivers influencing travel decisions in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
Regarding the current situation, 44% of APAC travelers have either canceled or modified their travel plans in the last 12 months due to extreme weather or natural disasters.
Nearly 80% of respondents now take extreme weather risks into account in both their destination choice and the timing of their trips.
Conversely, 68% agree that extreme weather makes the booking process stressful, while 56% say it has become too hot to visit certain destinations during their preferred travel window.
63 percent of travelers have removed specific destinations from their wish lists following news of natural disasters or climate events.
In this regard, Danielle D’Silva, Sustainability Director, Booking.com, said that travelers are now adapting to the extreme weather and actively avoiding crowds.
Extreme weather is already shaping destination and timing choices. Sixty-nine percent of survey respondents said they consider extreme weather risks when choosing a destination.
According to Booking.com, 40% of travelers in Asia-Pacific plan to avoid crowded tourist destinations. Additionally, 28% would seek out cooler destinations while 36% would prefer quieter locations.
D’Silva said: “We are encouraged by the wide range of ways in which travelers are already traveling more sustainably, and the ways in which they plan to continue to do so”. Booking.com said travelers will book 100 million room nights in properties with third-party sustainability certification in 2025, as the report points to behavioral changes that are already visible in booking choices.
