UNWTO report: Climate action in the tourism sector

Posted by Tsoku Maela on 24 March 2023

The UNWTO has published a report which discusses the advances made by the global tourism industry in measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the remaining obstacles. The UNWTO recognizes that measuring GHG emissions is crucial for addressing climate change, but due to the multifaceted and varied nature of the tourism industry, measuring emissions can be complicated.

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Developed in collaboration with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and with support from Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection, the report provides an overview of methodologies and tools for GHG measurement, with a particular focus on three areas: accommodation, tour operators, and destinations.

The report highlights several key findings, including:

Accommodation:

  • The accommodation industry is better positioned to measure GHG emissions than other tourism sectors.
  • The Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative is the most widely-used tool for measuring the carbon footprints of properties, and it is available for free.
  • New tools are emerging that simplifies the measurement process for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Tour operators:

  • Tour operators face challenges in measuring emissions due to their varying operational structures.
  • Many leading tour operators are engaging consultants to address the specific needs of their operations.
  • There is no consensus on including aviation in tour operators’ calculations.

Destinations:

  • Destinations have the least number of purpose-designed methodologies or tools available to measure GHG emissions.
  • Most of the work on measuring emissions in this area is done by academia.
  • Some leading destinations, such as Finland, Scotland, Norway, Valencia in Spain, and the Canary Islands, have developed their own solutions.

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