The carbon footprint of regional tourism trips: insights from environmentally extended regional input output analysis

Tourism is an important and almost certainly increasing driver of anthropogenic climate change. However, intelligence on the total greenhouse gas emissions related to tourism trips - including travel to and from the destination - is limited, especially at sub-national destination scale. This paper uses an environmentally extended input-output approach to estimate the total greenhouse gas emissions consequent on inbound and domestic tourism trips in Wales, a region of the UK. We use the UN World Tourism Organisation (TSA) concept of visitors and trips to estimate the overall carbon footprint of tourism at around 3.4 megatons in 2019, 8.7% of total territorial emissions. We further compare these results with estimates for 2007 which suggests that there has been a modest reduction of under 2% per annum since 2007, but with significant data issues affecting comparability. Apparently slow progress in decarbonisation, including an increase in intercontinental visits to Wales over the period, suggest tourism here has not yet embarked upon a climate-responsible transformation.

Automated summary

Tourism is a significant contributor to anthropogenic climate change, but there is limited information on its total greenhouse gas emissions, particularly at the sub-national level. This study estimates the carbon footprint of inbound and domestic tourism in Wales using an environmentally extended input-output approach. The results show that in 2019, tourism accounted for around 3.4 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions, representing 8.7% of the region's total emissions. Comparison with 2007 estimates suggests a modest reduction in emissions, but data issues limit comparability. The slow progress in decarbonization, coupled with an increase in intercontinental visits, indicates that the tourism industry in Wales has yet to undergo a climate-responsible transformation.