Traveling Polluters
October 17, 2007
Ninety-three percent of the 2,000 German participants questioned in a recent survey by the European Tourism Institute said that discussions about climate change had no impact on their vacation plans this year.
"This issue is currently not relevant for the world travel champions -- the German vacationers," said Heinz-Dieter Quack, director of the study.
One in two Germans went on a summer vacation for at least five days between June and September 2007, with an average of 12.6 days.
Only a few consciously decided against travel by plane -- one of the biggest culprits when it comes to harmful emissions. Twenty-nine percent of those polled flew to their vacation destination, while 52 percent traveled by car. Only about 5 percent of the German vacationers took the train, according to the survey.
Most Germans didn't go far this summer. One-third of those surveyed stayed in Germany, and the north-eastern coastal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was the most popular destination. Italy (9.6 percent), Spain (9.5 percent), Austria (6.3 percent) and France (6.1 percent) were other favorite vacation spots.