Sustainable tourism in the U.S. - statistics & facts
Sustainable tourism is defined by the UN World Tourism Organization and UN Environment Program as 鈥渢ourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.鈥 Some of the issues that have caused the need for more sustainable and ethical tourism practices include the global rise in greenhouse gas emissions, overcrowding, and a loss of socio-cultural authenticity in host communities. When adults in the United States were surveyed in 2022, over 70 percent of respondents believed that sustainable travel was important. When asked if they intended to make more sustainable travel choices the majority of U.S. travelers said they would, but only if it did not inconvenience them. Meanwhile, approximately 30 percent of respondents said that they would even if it inconvenienced them. The market size of the U.S. ecotourism sector was approximately 25.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2021.
