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British travel industry must wake up to climate threat
29 November 2006
ABTA must address aviation's climate threat
Friends of the Earth said today that the British travel industry must wake up to the threat posed by climate change and do more to reduce the environmental impact caused by its activities, especially aviation growth.
Tony Juniper, the director of the environmental campaign group, will speak at the Association of British Travels Agent's (ABTA) annual Travel Convention, which is taking place this week in Marbella [1, 2].
Aviation is the fastest growing source of carbon dioxide emissions and Juniper will urge ABTA members to take a realistic approach toward the prospects for future growth in the sector. Last year the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research published a report warning that if aviation continues to grow at the current rate, it could account for 100 per cent of the UK's emissions quota by 2050 [3]. This would make it virtually impossible to meet targets on tackling climate change, as all householders, motorists and businesses would have to reduce their carbon dioxide pollution to zero in order to accommodate this level of pollution from flying.
80 per cent of all UK visits abroad last year were by plane, yet four fifths of visits (and nine of the top 10 most popular destinations) were to Europe [4] - many of these could be made by rail.
Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper said:
“In common with other business sectors the British travel industry must play its part in helping to cut the emissions causing climate change, the biggest threat the planet faces. Aviation can continue to be an important part of the travel sector, but the growth expected in the coming years is not compatible with protecting climatic stability. Unless urgent action is taken to avoid the anticipated and unsustainable growth in air travel, we will not be able to prevent the build up of emissions in the atmosphere from reaching dangerous levels”.
“Four fifths of all UK trips abroad are within Europe. Many of these destinations could easily be reached by rail. ABTA members must do more to get people out of planes and onto trains.”
Friends of the Earth is calling on ABTA members to:
- Promote rail over other transport for short-haul journeys.
Many short-haul journeys can be easily made by rail and journey times from UK will soon become quicker with the Eurostar high-speed rail link. ABTA members could also do more to promote the enjoyable experience of train travel [5].
- End support for an expansion in UK airports
“ABTA strongly welcomed the DfT Aviation White Paper that was published in December 2003 and the continuing demand for air travel underlines the need for sensible and sustainable expansion” [6].
Accept the need for an increase in aviation fuel taxes
The huge subsidy enjoyed by the aviation sector from fuel tax exemptions needs to end if alternative modes of transport are to become economically viable.
Raise awareness about the environmental benefits of holidays that avoid long distance travel.
Expansion of UK tourism would make economic as well as environmental sense as UK tourists currently spend more abroad than overseas tourists spend in the UK, creating a 18 billion deficit.
Provide information on carbon emissions produced by different modes of transport to various holiday destinations.
London-Paris and London-Brussels flights generate ten times more carbon dioxide emissions than Eurostar [7].
Work with rail companies to improve rail 'product`
Cooperation across rail companies is improving, but the travel industry must do more to promote easy connections between trains and provide through tickets from one point of sale. This will allows easy comparison with short-haul flights. They should also develop more rail holiday packages & deals.
Do more to support sustainable holidays and resorts
ABTA representatives should find out more about the holiday packages that they are selling and do more to ensure that they meet high environmental standards.
The aviation industry has tried to play down the need to curb flights by suggesting a range of `solutions' which will enable the sector to carry on expanding. These include placing aviation within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, offsetting emissions (through schemes such as tree-planting) and investigating the use of bio-fuels. The merits of most of these schemes have been exaggerated, and provide excuses for delaying real action on tackling emissions from aviation. A Friends of the Earth briefing is available on request.
Notes
Tony Juniper is speaking at ABTA's Travel Convention on Wednesday 29th November.
Around 1,600 delegates typically attend the convention. This year it will concentrate on `the future', including the future of the planet. www.theabtatravelconvention.com/bs.html
- www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/ttrends1106.pdf (PDF†) More facts below.
www.abtamembers.org/abtapolicy/airports/expansion.htm
TRAVEL FACTS AND FIGS
From Travel Trends, International Passenger Survey 2005 (published 8 November 2006).
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/ttrends1106.pdf(PDF†)
In 2005, UK residents made a record 66.4 million visits abroad, an increase of four per cent on the previous year.
Four-fifths of all visits abroad made by UK residents were to Europe.
Spain and France were the most popular countries visited by UK residents, with 13.8 million and 11.1 million visits respectively. Together, these two countries accounted for 38 per cent of all visits abroad by UK residents. As in previous years, nine out of the ten most popular countries UK residents visited in 2005 were in Europe.
In 2004, two-thirds of visits made by UK residents were to go on holiday, with a record 44.2 million holidays taken. Just under half (43 per cent) of these were package holidays.
Air travel was the most popular mode of travel for both UK residents travelling abroad and for overseas residents visiting the UK. In 2005, UK residents made a record 53.6 million visits by air, representing almost four-fifths of all visits abroad.
Overall, Channel Tunnel visits accounted for seven per cent of UK residents' visits abroad
Visits by sea accounted for 12 per cent of UK residents' visits abroad
Visits to destinations outside Europe by UK residents were almost entirely made by air whereas over a quarter of visits to Europe were made by sea or via the Tunnel.
ABTA TRAVEL STATISTICS AND TRENDS 2005
http://www.abtamembers.org/research/abtastatstrends2005.pdf (PDF†)
Although Spain and France were still by far the most popular countries for UK holidaymakers, non-Eurozone countries saw a terrific amount of growth during summer 2004. Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey, and Slovenia all proved to be incredibly popular short haul alternatives that offered good value for money in the face of the strengthening Euro.
ABOUT ABTA
www.abta.com/download/abtastatstrends2005.pdf (PDF†)
The Association of British Travel Agents, now represents over 6,000 travel agencies and 850 tour operations, throughout the British Isles. Members range from small, specialist tour operators and independent travel agencies through to publicly-listed companies and household names; from call centres to internet booking services to high street shops.
ABTA Members are responsible for the sale of approximately 80% of all package holidays sold in the UK.
Britain's favourite destinations 2006
www.abtamembers.org/press/kit/trends.htm
Spain
France
Greece
USA
Italy
Ireland
Netherlands
Portugal
Turkey
Cyprus
Short Breaks
Short breaks are very much part of the holiday landscape and have expanded the industry considerably. Paris, Amsterdam, Bruges and Rome were 2004's top four destinations.
†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.
If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.
Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jun 2008
