How many trees would you need to plant to offset your holiday flight?

Tourism is responsible for 8% of the world’s carbon footprint, with transport making up nearly half of that figure. New research has revealed how many trees holidaymakers would need to plant in order to offset the carbon footprint of their flights within 12 months.

The study, by Good Trip Marketplace, analysed the carbon footprint of travelling to the world’s most popular holiday destinations from the UK, and found that Brits flying to Sydney would need to plant a whopping 278 trees to offset their airmiles. Brits flying to Bali and back, which contributes over 1900KG of carbon into the atmosphere, would have to plant 193 trees in order to offset this, while those flying to South Africa and Japan would have to plant 143 trees.

A return flight to New York would require 78 trees to be planted in order to offset 778KG of carbon emissions, while Brits hot-footing it to Dubai would have to plant 77 trees to offset their flights within a year of travelling. While the number of trees to long haul destinations is particularly eye watering, Brits travelling around Europe also need to keep an eye on the impact their holidays have on their carbon footprint.

UK flights to the Canary Islands generate the most carbon emissions, with more than 400KG – the equivalent of 40 trees. This is closely followed by flights to Turkey which would require 37 trees to be offset.

Looking at other popular summer holiday destinations, a flight to Spain and back requires 25 trees to be offset, while Portugal holidaymakers would need to plant 31 trees in order to offset their carbon footprint.

How many trees do you need to plant to carbon offset your holiday flights?

Commenting on the research, Danny Sullivan, founder of Good Trip Marketplace, said: “There is nothing better than going on holiday, but more and more people are becoming aware of the impact travelling is having on the environment. We definitely hope our research doesn’t put Brits off flying abroad, but think more about ways they offset their carbon footprint in other areas of everyday life.”