People willing to pay more for travel to help save the planet: Study

From the products we buy to our travel habits, almost everything we do affects our planet. But how easy is it to reduce our impact on the planet? Everyday, people commute from one place to another, whether for work, education, shopping or leisure. Humankind is a species which cherishes the freedom to travel where and when the individual chooses. But this travel is not without cost. Yes, I�m talking about the environmental cost.

I�m sure you�ll agree with me if I say that people in the past were not aware of this environmental cost but these days, travelers are becoming more aware of the damage their trips may do to the environment. Thinking of travelers is undergoing a significant change and they are willing to alter their actions to protect the environment.

The recent online polling of more than 24,500 consumers from 144 countries, conducted by the guidebook publisher Lonely Planet shows that the number of people willing to consider offsetting carbon emissions has increased.

The travelers are willing to opt for more radical options such as giving up flying for less damaging modes of transport, the introduction of an annual personal carbon allowance into which they must fit their travel and reducing the number of flights taken or increasing the cost of flying via a carbon tax.

Traveling by train is time consuming and more expensive as compared to air-travel and people are putting off by the high price of tickets. Following table shows the comparison between rail fares and airfares to Rome and Madrid from Britain’s major cities.

I agree that some people are putting off trains for reason being hight ticket prices but the majority of people still find trains as viable alternative for traveling. The increasing number of such people who are willing to alter their actions brings hope that our planet might be saved.