Most London holidaymakers want to avoid flying to their next holiday, new stats reveal
2 in 5 of us want to avoid flying on our next holiday, new data generated by the sustainable travel company Byway reveal. And that number rises when it comes to those of us living in London.
42% of British holidaymakers are looking for alternative ways to travel to reduce their carbon footprint, and that figure rises to 56% when it comes to the percentage of Londoners looking for alternative ways to travel abroad without heading to the airport.
Cat Jones, founder of Byway, called on the UK government to bring in more subsidies to make train and other types of over-land travel competitively priced with flying, after 67% said cost and planning restricted their non-flight travel.
She said: “Aviation is still heavily subsidised and cost is one of the most prevalent blockers to choosing flight-free. Last month, France’s Transport Minister said France will raise flight taxes to pay for trains. If we’re serious about hitting the UK’s carbon reduction goal of 100% by 2050, we need our government to step up and make similar bold moves.”
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Byway’s data was based on a survey of 2,000 UK holidaymakers conducted by OnePoll.
The data also revealed that Gen Z are three times more likely than the average holidaymakers to choose flight-free in 2023, with 28% of them considering non-flight routes.
Byway plan holidays from London and other parts of England via rail and plan the entire itinerary, including hotels and recommendations of places to see in each destination along the route. The idea is that the journey becomes the holiday, or part of the holiday experience.
To help tackle the price obstacle, Byway have also launched a selection of cheaper travel experiences, with prices starting from £130 per person per night, including transport and accommodation.
Visit Byway to find out about rail travel options for this autumn