Tourists Embrace Sustainable Mobility in the Canary Islands
Visitors to the Canary Islands are ready to adopt a new way of getting around. According to a recent study, tourists would be willing to use a digital platform that offers various mobility options during their island holidays, spending up to 40 euros for a service that provides, for example, unlimited use of public transport for the duration of their stay.
What is Mobility as a Service (MaaS)?
Three researchers from the Universities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) and La Laguna (ULL) have published a study in the journal ‘Transportation Research Part D’ on how tourists’ environmental attitudes affect their spending decisions on ‘Mobility as a Service’ (MaaS). This concept, MaaS, is being developed in various cities and tourist destinations worldwide. It aims to provide people with different travel options without using their own car, utilizing all available public and private providers. This includes everything from electric scooters, rental bikes, motorbikes, and cars to taxis, buses (known locally as ‘guaguas’), trains, metros, or trams. Ideally, all these services are integrated into a single app, allowing users to compare, decide, and book their journeys directly from their mobile phones.
Key Findings from Leading Tourist Destinations
The study by Concepción Román (ULPGC), Rosa Marina González (ULL), and Juan Carlos Martín (ULPGC) is based on 921 surveys conducted almost equally in two leading destinations: Adeje in Tenerife and Maspalomas in Gran Canaria. The surveyed tourists had an average age of 41, with half of the respondents being under 40. The study’s conclusions reveal that tourists’ environmental attitudes are a key, though complex, factor in the adoption of MaaS services. This solution is considered promising for making visitor mobility on the islands more sustainable.
The Gap Between Environmental Attitude and Action
The results showed a high level of general environmental concern among respondents, which was more pronounced among women than men. However, the research also uncovered a gap between the environmental attitude declared by each person and their actual behavior. Despite this, the survey for this study confirmed that tourists are willing to pay for mobility during their holidays. Specifically, they would spend up to €39.53 on an option offering unlimited public transport use. The authors highlight that this “underscores the importance of public transport in developing an attractive MaaS package.”
Education and Environmental Concern Shape Preferences
Tourists with a university education showed a greater willingness to pay, a significant detail considering that 55% of the tourists surveyed in Adeje and almost 36% in Maspalomas had higher education. An individual tourist’s environmental concern also significantly impacts their preferences. The greater the environmental awareness, the more predisposition there is to use public transport or take advantage of the benefits of group excursions.
A Path Forward for Sustainable Tourism
The study concludes that “segmenting tourists based on their environmental attitudes and behaviors is crucial for developing effective MaaS programs” and that “policies that encourage environmental concern could increase the adoption of these programs.” This research points towards a future where sustainable mobility is not just an ideal, but a practical and preferred choice for visitors to the Canary Islands.
