The carbon impact of short-haul tourism: a case study of UK travel to Southern France using life cycle analysis

Abstract

Tourism holds a significant share in the global carbon footprint. Transportation to the destination is recognized as the primary contributor, although its contribution can be less dominant in the context of short-haul travel. Previous studies do not provide a critical comparative analysis of how changes in travel behaviour, notably modal shift, affect the total carbon impacts from short-haul holidays; nor do they explore the relative contribution of the specific elements of the holiday product or account for global variations when measuring those contributions. This paper presents a carbon impact assessment case study of short-haul tourism to Southern France by British tourists. It applies an advanced, Life Cycle Assessment-based, method of evaluation, the hybrid DEFRA-LCA (Ecoinvent) approach, which is capable of appraising both the direct and the embodied ‘indirect’ greenhouse gas emissions. The principal finding supports the traditional view that transportation generates the largest carbon footprint and that the most significant carbon savings can be achieved by switching from air and car-based travel to train and coach. However, the study also indicates that if tourists stay at the destination longer, and travel to the destination by train or coach, the destination-based elements of the holiday can make a large carbon contribution and even outweigh the share of the transit element. The Life Cycle Assessment also shows that the ‘indirect’ greenhouse gas emissions from tourism in Southern France are significant, thus emphasizing the importance of their incorporation into future carbon impact appraisals

‘Nudging’ as an architect of more responsible consumer choice in food service provision: The role of restaurant menu design

“…They also hold substantial socio-economic benefits that are generated at all scales (Milne and Ateljevic 2001). While the large, and yet growing, societal and economic significance of TTL activities is well acknowledged, so are their environmental impacts (Filimonau et al 2014;Gössling 2002;Gössling et al 2011). Within the diverse environmental footprint attributed to this sector of the global economy, the on-going contribution to climate change represents an issue of particular concern (United Nations World Tourism Organization -UNWTO 2007).…”

Carbon Footprint of Inbound Tourism to Iceland: A Consumption-Based Life-Cycle Assessment including Direct and Indirect Emissions

“…Furthermore, the calculated GHG impact of tourism in Iceland is an average figure, with no specific data included on trip length, activities undertaken or accommodation preferences. With other studies indicating the importance of certain factors such as trip length on the overall emissions intensity of tourism (e.g., [23]), further work is required to understand the sensitivity of the emissions to these variables. This would likely require more thorough, accurate and up-to-date data collection on the actual behaviour of tourists [23].…”

“…Sightseeing boat trips add the majority of the remaining 10%. Notable exclusions from the transport emissions calculations are those due to travelling to and from the airport in the home country of the tourist; however, the contribution of this element can be considered negligible [23]. Together, the GHGs from the two transport sectors form a share of 83% to 93% of the overall carbon footprint.…”

“…At present, international aviation is excluded from Kyoto reporting requirements, which only covers domestic transport [22]. That the field of environmental assessments of tourism is still in the early stages of development is widely acknowledged in the literature (e.g., [9,20,23,24]), particularly in relation to climate change, where accurate quantification of emissions is critical [8]. The result of this is a limited understanding of the role of tourism in global emissions and climate change, preventing the design and adoption of effective mitigation approaches [19].…”

“…In recognition of the importance of including the full range of emissions related to national tourism, a number of methodologies have been proposed for the calculation [41] including the life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach (e.g., [42]). LCA enables the full scope of emissions embedded in all related goods and services to be accounted for and, while it has so far had limited application in the tourism sector (e.g., [19,20,23,43]), it offers an opportunity to improve the quality and accuracy of environmental assessments [44]. Especially applicable to national scale emission studies, the LCA methodology is able to give broader information on the impact of the sector, which can be particularly important for effective policy-making [43].…”