Are There Alternatives to the Method of LCA in Tourism Environmental Impact Appraisal?

Abstract

A distinctive feature of the LCA method is its capability to reveal the magnitude of indirect, non-operational environmental impacts. This positively differentiates this tool from existing alternatives which largely fail to capitalise upon the concept of life cycle thinking and whose potential to integrate the holistic vision into assessment of environmental impacts from tourism products and services is therefore limited. There are however a number of notable exceptions. The international standards for carbon accounting and reporting recognise the value of life cycle analysis. These standards are restricted in scope of assessment due to their focus on a single environmental impact, i.e. climate change; furthermore, they have been originally designed for application at the corporate or national, and not product or service, level. Despite these shortcomings, application of the international standards for carbon accounting and reporting represents a significant step forward in tourism impact assessment as they take into consideration certain scopes of the indirect, carbon footprint related impacts. These life cycle thinking-based approaches are introduced and discussed in the following text. Their applicability to perform impact appraisal of tourism products and services is evaluated.