New research into ‘responsible’ travel has found that 50 per cent of Brits would be willing to pay extra for holidays which took sustainability into account.

The survey, by TNS for Travel Weekly, also discovered that poverty was the one social and environmental issue which most concerned UK travellers. The financial stability of local people was ranked as the most important issue by 23 per cent of respondents, above transport pollution, energy use or water wastage.

58 per cent of those surveyed said that sustainability was a concern when choosing holidays, while the remaining 42 per cent said they were not concerned by such issues. Pollution generated by flights, cruise liners and coaches was a concern for only one in ten UK holidaymakers, while marginally more were concerned about the conditions hotel staff had to work in and the wages they were paid. Energy and water usage were again only concerns for around one in ten of those surveyed.

“People regularly say they are willing to pay more in research. What we have been unable to see is whether they actually do,” commented Sue Hurdle, chief executive of The Travel Foundation.

When it comes to providing solutions for more sustainable travel, 44 per cent of those surveyed thought that the government should take responsibility for making holidays sustainable, while 35 per cent thought that travel firms bore the responsibility for keeping travel sustainable. Interestingly, only 15 per cent of travellers said that airlines were responsible for sustainability in the travel industry, despite the numerous environmental campaigns targeting carriers.