How Climate-First Travelers Reveal the Future of Sustainability in Travel

Travel has proven resilient to economic and geopolitical shocks, yet sustainability remains an open question for its long-term future. This report analyzes five distinct datasets, three drawn from travelers and two from the trade, to answer the questions travel company leaders ask most often when sustainability comes up: what travelers really expect from the sustainability of their trips, what "sustainability in travel" means to them, and whether they will pay more when it raises the price.

The analysis finds that sustainability is now embedded in traveler mindsets, most deeply among the Millennial and Gen Z travelers whose values are already shaping how products are built and bought. Travelers pay most readily when sustainability arrives as a better trip, one that is more local, more authentic, and less crowded, rather than as a sacrifice. The trade is already deeply committed through responsible sourcing and support for local communities. The work that remains is to make that commitment visible to travelers at the moment they book.

Produced jointly by Wren, the Adventure Travel Trade Association, USTOA, and MMGY Global, the report closes with practical opportunities for operators to close the gap between what travelers expect and what the trade communicates.