| Summary: | The aim of this study is to describe and analyze the opinions of tour operators and travel agencies regarding carbon offsetting in air travel. Since it is known already that the number oif participants among travelers in voluntary carbon offsetting is low, the study also aims to examine the travel companies' perceptions of who is responsible for increasing the number of carbon offsetts in air travel. The study was conducted on the basis of qualitative methods. Four semi-structured interviews were held with four different travel companies, of which two of these were travel agencies and two were tour operators. Thematic anaysis was used to analyze the collected data. The results are discussed in relation to previous research which lies behind the research questions. The study shows that there are two different types of values that support why companies offer voluntary carbon offsetting to their customers during air travel; environmental value and market value. Further, the findings highlights the importance of managing carbon offsetting in relation to other environmental sustainable development. To get more travelers involved in participating in carbon offsetting means engaging in overall environmental management at different levels of society. The travel companies mean that they can themselves provide the option for customers to carbon offset, and inform and communicate about this. In addition, school must strenghten knowledge about environmental issues among the people of society and politicians must direct these people towards more climate friendly actions. This will lead to a process of change in overall environmental behaviour, which is needed for more people to want to participate in activities such as carbon offsetting.
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