Impact of Geographic Location on Energy and Fossil Fuel Demand as well as Climate Change in the Life Cycle of Tourist Accommodation Establishments in Chile

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Tourism is a rapid-growth industry on a global scale that includes transportation, excursions and tourist accommodation establishments. In turn, these activities have an impact on energy demand, to achieve thermal comfort, in addition to environmental impacts such as climate change and fossil fuel demand. These impacts vary depending on energy sources, water and solid waste treatment, and availability of resources, among other factors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of geographic location on energy demand to attain thermal comfort and to assess the environmental impacts of tourist accommodation establishments in Chile. DesignBuilder software was used to evaluate energy demand for thermal comfort in the establishments, by measuring thermal transmittance through roofing, walls, flooring, doors and windows of the establishments, following the MINVU (NTM 11) technical standard. Moreover, different building materials were modelled for each establishment, depending on their geographic location. Climate change and fossil fuel demand were analyse using a life cycle assessment in accordance with ISO 14044, using a functional unit of 1 guest night. Inventory and impact assessment data were modelled using SimaPro software, thereby obtaining different energy demands based on the establishment’s geographic location. Northern establishments were shown to have greater impact on climate change and fossil fuel demand with coal being most relied upon in this respect and CO2 the substance chiefly emitted in environmental impact on climate change (a carbon footprint of 15.68 kg CO2 equals one guest night). This study determines that geographic location impacts energy demand, climate change and fossil fuel demand.