Abstract
In this paper, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions derived from airport surface access of outbound German tourists travelling to the Canary Islands have been estimated. It is argued that carbon footprint estimations in tourism must be improved to incorporate the transport to the airports within the country of origin. To do so, statistical data from the Tourism Expenditure Survey of the Canary Islands have been used. In particular, the postcodes of a large sample of German tourists visiting the archipelago from 2012 to 2014 are used to identify their residence and the distances travelled to their chosen airport. The findings of the paper contribute to the literature on tourism carbon footprints, including an estimate of the share of airport surface access emissions in a typical outbound sun and beach holiday trip. Airport ground access accounted for 8.17% of transport-related emissions. These results have implications for urban planners, transport firms, and tourism management.
Highlights
Introduction as Part of an OutboundHoliday Trip.There is wide concern about the emissions associated with tourism and, increasing interest in reducing the carbon footprint derived from tourism activities [1], which account for 8% of global emissions [2]
This study proposes analysing the carbon footprint generated under different scenarios: All tourists use fuel cars to go to airports; all tourists use electric cars; all tourists use public transportation to go to the airport; all tourists travelled from the nearest airport to their residences with direct flights to the Canary Islands; and carbon footprint is reduced by 55%
All the calculations have been made considering a one-way straight-line trip, so the carbon footprint generated by German tourists’ surface distances would be doubled if we consider that they travel back to their residences from the airport when returning from the Canary Islands
Summary
There is wide concern about the emissions associated with tourism and, increasing interest in reducing the carbon footprint derived from tourism activities [1], which account for 8% of global emissions [2]. These concerns are confirmed in the report released by UNWTO and the International Transport Forum [3], which puts the focus on transport related to tourism. A tourism carbon footprint refers to the measurement of the emissions associated with a tourism activity [5,6]. The analysis of emissions produced by tourism is a part of the literature on tourism and climate change, which, has evolved into a knowledge domain [7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
