Focus of work
Eco Attractions Group (EAG) is a unique national collaboration between some of the best loved public and influential visitor attractions across the UK, with a common goal of working together to help connect people with nature and inspire sustainable living.
EAG’s national membership collectively welcomes over 4.5 million visitors every year, and one of the biggest parts of any visitor experience’s carbon footprint comes from its visitors travelling to the attraction by car.
The Good Travel project aims to:
- Measure the scale of the problem by collecting hard data across a wide UK baseline on visitor car use
- Conduct research into the effectiveness of possible behaviour change incentives – what might change visitors’ behaviour by incentivising a switch to a sustainable transport option, and
- Develop a plan for trialling the most promising routes to help more visitors go car free.
Impact
FIT has funded two phases of the Good Travel project:
Phase one
In 2022, the Good Travel Project collected hugely useful data from up to 11 EAG members, creating a UK baseline on visitor car travel. The key findings were:
- 92.2% of visitors, on average, travelled by car to visit the surveyed member attractions
- Only 4.2% of these visitors travelled by electric car, compared to petrol, diesel and hybrid cars
- One visitor attraction had no carpark, so all visitors arrived by walking, cycling or public transport
- Average mileage varied from 20 and 206 miles
- Average car occupancy varied between 1.4 and 2.28 people per journey
- The most popular incentive for encouraging visitors to travel car-free was better public transport options (36%)
- 72% of visitors said they didn’t know if there was an option to travel to the attraction by public transport. Visitor attractions must better publicise travel options for visitors
- Over 1,400 people offered their suggestions to encourage more people to go car-free. In the future, EAG members hope to carry out further research looking at both short-term and long-term solutions to this problem.
Phase two
Phase two of the Good Travel project, which took place from 2023 to 2024, enabled the Eco Attractions Group to take further steps in tackling visitor travel emissions, building the data from Phase one and working closely with members to promote sustainable transport and encourage behaviour change.
Activities included:
- An in-depth analysis of over 3,000 visitor survey responses across members’ sites, with findings showing that 92% currently arrive by car but 36% would consider car-free travel if better public transport was available with clearer information. Over 1,400 visitors shared suggestions for how to make this easier across our member sites.
- The establishment of a working group including The Earth Trust, The Living Rainforest, The Eden Project and Gilbert White’s House to support members in setting realistic carbon reduction targets and to share practical ideas to tackle concerns around visitor transport. Some examples of improvements based on the Phase one data analysis have been new EV and e-bike charging points at The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) and visitor travel campaigns at The Earth Trust and The Living Rainforest.
- The ‘Welcoming Car-Free Visitors’ webinar delivered in partnership with Good Journey on 1 October 2024. Over 40 organisations attended, including VisitScotland, English Heritage, Sustrans, The National Trust, Holkham and Alnwick Castle. The session focused on practical steps, common barriers and sharing success stories to help attractions support car-free visitors.
- A redesign of the EAG website, developed in collaboration with Good Journey, with clear sustainable transport information now available for each attraction.
Phase three
Building on the learning developed in the earlier phases, Phase three, which will take place during 2026 and 2027, will focus on addressing the practical barriers that still prevent visitors accessing attractions without a car. Eco Attractions will work with a small number of member sites to develop and test a practical approach to improving car-free access.
Drawing on visitor insights and previous collaboration with Good Journey, this phase will define clear and proportionate expectations for supporting car-free visitors. It will also produce a small number of case studies and practical guidance to help other attractions apply this learning and take steps towards reducing visitor reliance on car travel and improve access for people without a car.