Carbon tax, tourism CO2 emissions and economic welfare

Abstract

This paper, using a computable general equilibrium model, presents a simulation study of the changes in carbon emissions and economic welfare which could be brought about through a carbon tax policy in China's tourism industry. Our results clearly indicate that a carbon tax policy could have a remarkable impact on tourism-related carbon emissions and economic welfare. In addition, we find those impacts would be significantly different at different times. Also, the impacts of different carbon taxes on the different sectors of the tourism industry are also quite different. Furthermore, our analysis highlights three key managerial recommendations that are relevant for Chinese tourism policy-makers. Our results also have a certain reference value for the management of other low-carbon tourism destinations.