MADRID, 12 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
40% of Spanish travelers say that they give more and more importance to sustainability when traveling, and 13% of them even acknowledge that they choose transportation and accommodation based on their ecological footprint, according to the I X-ray of the traveler current produced by the MSC shipping company.
Spanish travelers consider sustainability to be an important factor when choosing a travel option for their holidays, with travelers from Catalonia, Murcia and the Balearic Islands being the Spaniards who most take the ecological footprint into account when choosing transport and accommodation.
The shipping company’s study shows how 40% of Spanish travelers say that they are increasingly looking for more sustainable options on their trips. In fact, 13% have it integrated and choose transportation and accommodation that takes into account their ecological footprint.
However, there are still 47% of respondents who give little or no importance to sustainability when organizing their holidays.
There are numerous factors related to sustainability when choosing a destination. For almost half of the Spaniards surveyed (40%), the most valued thing is the protection of cultural heritage, followed by environmental protection (37.4%), incentives for the local economy (35%), and the availability of transportation with a lower ecological footprint or emissions compensation (26%).
Regarding this last point, the Balearic Islands (60%) are the Spanish citizens who take the ecological footprint most into account when choosing transport and accommodation, followed by the Catalans (60%) and the Murcians (56%). Lastly, those from Madrid (45%), Asturias (43%) and Extremadura (43%) are the ones who least consider it a determining factor when traveling.
The MSC study ensures that interest in ecotourism is increasing: 9 out of 10 travelers seek to enjoy destinations that offer the possibility of connecting with nature, while visiting large cities and a wide range of services and leisure.
Even so, traveling to discover other places and cultures or to relax continue to be the main preferences of Spaniards, with 82% and 70% respectively.
Among Spaniards who are increasingly interested in vacations related to the environment, 36% of them declare that their main reason for traveling is to connect with nature, while 9.5% of Spaniards who travel for leisure He does it with the intention of playing sports. Similarly, 18% of Spaniards consider it important that their holiday destination offers options and activities in a natural environment.
When asked about their interest in leading sustainability destinations, a third of Spaniards confess that they are attracted to the idea of ??visiting them. Among them, the most interesting for Spaniards are Norway (47%), Iceland (44%) and Finland (35%).
Precisely, this June, MSC Cruises inaugurated its new flagship MSC Euribia, its most environmentally advanced ship to respond to this demand and tour one of the leading sustainability areas in the world: Northern Europe.
With her maiden voyage, the industry’s first net-zero greenhouse gas emissions voyage, she achieved net-zero performance thanks to the use of bio-LNG as fuel, demonstrating that net-zero emissions cruises are possible today, moving forward to the 2050 goal for the sector.
For all these reasons, for 11% of Spaniards, going on a cruise is becoming a highly sought after option because the ships are increasingly newer, ecological and sustainable. 17% consider that the modernization of the sector is a reason for choosing this way of traveling.
In the cruise sector, MSC Cruises is leading the way towards sustainability, adopting ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions, collaborating with technology companies, shipyards and fuel suppliers to accelerate this transformation.
MSC World Europa, which has departures from Barcelona throughout the year, and MSC Euribia, two of its ships, are powered by LNG, the cleanest and most efficient fuel commercially available. In addition, 70% of MSC Cruises’ fleet capacity has advanced wastewater treatment systems (AWTS).
