Travel to Europe shifts towards sustainable tourism

Monday, November 7, 2022

Newly introduced options by Airbnb, have been impacting bookings from over-touristy destinations and peak dates to be distributed more equally, aiming at sustainable tourism.

According to a press release by the accommodation platform, by adding new categories, Airbnb is diverting bookings from Europe’s most saturated tourist hot spots to more sustainable tourism trends, the website of Schengen Visa reports.

A report released by Nathan Blecharczyk, the Co-founder of Airbnb at Web Summit, has revealed that flexible search features such as ‘Categories’ introduced in May of 2022, ‘Im Flexible’ (May of 2021) and ‘I’m (Even More) Flexible (November 2021), have established a new way to search for travel and provide a tech-driven solution to combat mass tourism by assisting guests to discover new places beyond tourism hot spots.

The report shows that one in 20 stays on Airbnb are currently booked using this feature.

Airbnb Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer want Airbnb to be part of the solution to challenges associated with the growth of tourism, and to support sustainable travel trends.

Moreover, the new report shows a shift in bookings from top destinations to less popular spots, in both, urban and rural areas. This trend is continuing although pre-pandemic travel patterns are returning.

Findings from report shows that guests that used these search tools book less often one of the 20 most popular destinations on Airbnb in Europe, recording a 17.5 per cent decrease compared to one year ago.

Additionally, these guests more often booked less-visited communities ranked outside Airbnb’s top destinations, with those numbers increasing from 35.5 per cent.

Furthermore, guests booking Airbnb’s flexible search tool, which provides an option to include a location without dates, are more likely to book outside the top ten per cent most booked dates, with these rates decreasing by 7.3 per cent, and are more likely to book during weekdays, with the trend increasing by 5.7 per cent.

The report also reveals that bookings patters have changed all around Europe, with flexible bookers staying outside Amsterdam, 32.5 per cent more than in the previous year.

In Barcelona, guests who book with flexible tools, are more likely to book in two most popular areas of Ciutat Vela and Example, compared to traditional bookers, with both rates decreasing by 7.1 per cent 13.4 per cent, respectively.

The same happened with guests in Lisbon and London, with bookers more likely staying outside the city centre, 42.6 per cent and 29 per cent for each cities, respectively.

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