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Environmentally friendly travel has developed into a mainstream sector, compared to the niche concept that it used to be, according to the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta).

Frances Tuke, a spokeswoman for Abta, said that the industry has led this change over the last year.

This work by travel companies and operators is important, Ms Tuke claimed, as customers sometimes assert that they are interested in 'green' travel but do not make the bookings to back up these claims.

'In order for the industry to make any difference it has led itself and made its own inroads,' she said.

'It really has started to take off very quickly and a couple of years ago was a real tipping point. It went from being a niche idea to being a mainstream one.'

Ms Tuke predicted a bright future for eco-friendly travel and said that public awareness of the concept is 'very high', but explained that attitudes towards environmental issues are often dependent on different social trends and climates.

'If people are doing positive things about it then they are happy to get involved, but if it's all negative then people feel like they don't want to be bothered by it,' she said.

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