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Long-haul travellers heading to Europe are showing a clear shift toward more responsible tourism choices, with new European Travel Commission research indicating modest but broad-based growth in sustainable travel behaviours across key overseas markets.
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New Assessment Tracks Behaviour, Not Just Intentions
The European Travel Commission has released its latest “Assessment of Responsible Travel Behaviours of Long-haul Travellers to Europe,” a study that examines how visitors from major overseas markets are actually travelling, rather than only what they say they plan to do. The research, prepared with insights firm Kairos Future, focuses on travellers from countries such as the United States, Canada, Brazil, China, Japan, South Korea and Australia who visited Europe in recent seasons.
Publicly available information indicates that the study builds on a previous edition conducted in 2021, allowing researchers to compare how attitudes and actions have evolved as international travel recovered after the pandemic. The new results show that while awareness of sustainability has stabilised, concrete responsible behaviours have inched upward, suggesting that long-haul visitors are gradually translating climate and community concerns into on-the-ground decisions.
The report places particular emphasis on behaviours that directly affect overcrowding, emissions and local communities, such as when people travel, how they move around once in Europe and how much they spend in local businesses. By looking at these patterns, the assessment provides fresh evidence that Europe’s long-haul markets are becoming more selective and values-driven, even as affordability and geopolitical uncertainty temper headline demand.
Off-Season, Off-the-Beaten-Path Travel Gains Ground
One of the clearest trends emerging from the ETC assessment is a growing appetite for off-season and less crowded destinations. According to the study, more than half of surveyed long-haul travellers said they intended to travel outside peak months, and just under half reported that they actually did so on their most recent trip. This points to a measurable, if incomplete, shift away from high-summer visits to Europe’s most congested city centres.
The research also highlights increasing interest in “off-beat” locations, including secondary cities, rural regions and nature destinations. These places are attracting travellers who want authentic local culture and more space, as well as those looking to avoid the heat waves and overtourism pressures that have affected many Mediterranean hotspots in recent summers. Industry analysis based on the ETC findings notes that this dispersion can help relieve strain on famous urban centres while spreading tourism income more evenly across regions.
Despite these changes, the report identifies an intention–behaviour gap that remains significant. For example, a notable share of travellers express strong interest in avoiding over-visited places but still include at least one iconic city or landmark in their itinerary. Researchers interpret this as evidence that iconic attractions continue to exert a powerful pull, even among more sustainability-minded visitors, and argue that better information and product development are needed to make alternative options more compelling.
Climate-Conscious Choices Extend Beyond Flights
Although long-haul trips to Europe by definition require air travel, the ETC assessment shows that many visitors are trying to reduce the environmental footprint of the rest of their journey. Survey results indicate higher use of public transport within Europe, including trains and urban transit systems, alongside increased interest in rail-and-stay itineraries once travellers have crossed the ocean.
The study notes that a growing segment of long-haul visitors are combining multiple destinations in a single trip to reduce the frequency of intercontinental flights. Some are staying longer in one country or region, rather than taking several short European breaks over a few years. These patterns align with wider ETC monitoring that points to longer trip durations and higher per-trip spending across various markets, trends that can lower emissions per day of travel while supporting local businesses.
Behavioural indicators also point to rising attention to accommodation choices. Publicly available summaries of the research describe more travellers favouring small-scale or locally owned lodging, or international hotels with visible sustainability credentials, such as energy-saving measures or waste reduction programmes. While price remains a decisive factor, the report suggests that clear, trustworthy information about environmental and social practices can nudge travellers toward lower-impact options when costs are comparable.
Local Spending and Community Focus Strengthen
Beyond environmental considerations, the ETC study underlines a strengthening focus on social responsibility among long-haul visitors. Travellers report higher levels of engagement in locally rooted experiences, such as neighbourhood food tours, community-led cultural activities and visits to smaller museums or attractions outside the main tourist corridors.
According to the assessment, this shift is reflected in spending patterns. A rising share of travel budgets is being directed toward local restaurants, markets, independent guides and cultural venues, rather than solely to large international brands. Analysts interpret this as an effort by many visitors to ensure their money stays longer in the destinations they visit and supports local employment.
The study also finds that travellers increasingly check destination information on issues like crowding, heritage protection and community concerns before finalising plans. This has been reinforced by extensive media coverage of protests against overtourism in several European cities and new regulations around short-term rentals and visitor caps in popular areas. The ETC research suggests that such coverage is shaping perceptions and encouraging more visitors to think about their own impact, even if policy details differ widely across countries and cities.
Affordability Concerns Temper Demand but Not Responsibility
The latest long-haul sentiment indicators from the ETC and its partners show that overall intentions to visit Europe from distant markets have softened for 2026, with would-be travellers citing cost of living pressures, higher airfares and limited vacation time. Complementary tourism outlooks from national and regional bodies point to a more cautious outlook, particularly from North American markets, compared with the strong rebound recorded in 2023 and 2024.
Yet the new assessment of responsible travel behaviours indicates that those who do choose to make the trip are more likely than before to incorporate sustainability into their plans. Researchers describe a gradual consolidation of a “conscious traveller” segment that is prepared to reduce trip frequency, stay longer and spend more deliberately in exchange for a lower overall footprint and higher perceived quality.
For European destinations, the findings support a policy pivot that many tourism boards have been making in recent years: targeting fewer visitors who stay longer, explore more widely and spend more within local economies. The ETC report notes that supporting this shift will require improvements in transport connectivity, visitor information and product development, so that responsible choices are not just desirable but also convenient and affordable for long-haul guests.
As travel conditions evolve, the assessment suggests that responsible behaviour is becoming a core expectation for a growing share of long-haul visitors to Europe, rather than a niche preference. While challenges around affordability, emissions and overtourism remain, the latest evidence points to a gradual but meaningful cultural change in how distant markets approach a European trip.