Booking.com's 2025 Sustainable Travel Research Reveals Growing Awareness of Tourism's Impact on Communities

Booking.com's new research takes a community-centric lens. Asking respondents not just how they travel but also how they experience inbound visitors where they live, this approach sheds light on the benefits and challenges of tourism from their perspective as both travellers and locals.

• For the first time, more than half of Australian travellers (51%) are now conscious of tourism's impact on local communities, as well as the environment.
• In 2016, less than half (40%) of Aussie travellers believed they travelled sustainably. By 2025, almost all travellers (91%) said they want to make more sustainable travel choices.
• While 62% of Australian travellers feel that tourism has a positive impact overall where they live, they also highlight challenges including traffic, littering, overcrowding and a rising cost of living.
• Australians are increasingly committed to supporting the economies of the destinations they visit, with 77% wanting the money they spend to go back to the local community, and 73% wanting to leave places better than when they arrived.

"To ensure that destinations can continue to be enjoyed by both locals and visitors alike, tourism, infrastructure and innovation need to keep pace with travellers' good intent," says Todd Lacey, Regional Manager, Oceania at Booking.com.