Voluntary carbon offsetting: Who does it?

• Explores the prevalence of carbon offsetting by international tourists to Australia.
• Three distinct market segments of carbon offsetters are identified.
• Uptake was more common among European travellers than Asian travellers.
• May indicate social marketing in Europe has enhanced carbon offsetting behaviour.
• More research on Asian traveller's environmental perceptions/behaviours is needed.

Voluntary carbon offsetting was popularised during the last decade, particularly by airlines, as a tool to ‘neutralise’ emissions associated with travel. Although there is a wide range of carbon offsetting schemes for tourism, the uptake of these programs has been reportedly low. Regardless, little research has explored the visitor segments who voluntarily undertake carbon offsetting. Consequently, this research investigates the prevalence of carbon offsetting amongst international tourists to Australia between 2008 and 2010 and, using cluster analysis, segments the carbon offsetters into three distinct markets. Findings reveal a stable carbon offsetting market, despite a Global Financial Crisis occurring during the reference period. Further, travellers from the United Kingdom/Europe were more likely to carbon offset, while those from Asia were less likely to participate in the schemes. Thus, this could indicate that the social marketing, public discourse and substantial media coverage in the United Kingdom/Europe had enhanced climate change mitigation behaviours.