While tourism and air transport are recovering from the impacts of the Covid pandemic, it seems timely to draw a synthetic view of future stakes combining the following topics: the greenhouse gas emissions scenarios for tourism, regarding which recent work has improved their understanding; the climatic impact of aviation, almost 60% of which is due to non-CO 2 emissions; alternative fuels (biofuels, E-fuels, hydrogen) and engine designs (fuel cells...) which are complex and controversial issues, and whose potentials should be assessed regarding their timing, environmental impacts, and their ability to meet long distance travel requirements. This paper analyses the extent to which the new options regarding fuels and engines can help decarbonize tourism and air transport. The answer is that they can partly contribute but do not render obsolete previous work on substitutions between types of tourism (short versus long distance...), between transport modes (ground transport versus air), length of stay, etc. Following this step, the paper deals with the position of aviation players and the type of arguments they use. We conclude on the necessity to make strategic choices among the options to avoid wasting investments.
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The aim of this QSR 2022 on tourism is to make an attempt to assess available information about the tourism industry from three countries and various sources and present it in a comprehensive manner. We, thereby, describe common features of regional tourism structures, as well as differences, and we present some of the identified data incompatibilities (sections 2.2 and 2.3). The recommendations in section 3 present avenues along which data collection and monitoring can be improved, inspired by a set of key forces driving change intourism that stakeholders should be prepared for (section 2.4).
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PBL is the initiator of the Work Programme Monitoring and Management Circular Economy 2019-2023, a collaboration between CBS, CML, CPB, RIVM, TNO, UU. Holidays and mobility are part of the consumption domains that PBL researches, and this project aims to calculate the environmental gains per person per year of the various circular behavioural options for both holiday behaviour and daily mobility. For both behaviours, a range of typical (default) trips are defined and for each several circular option explored for CO2 emissions, Global warming potential and land use. The holiday part is supplied by the Centre for Sustainability, Tourism and Transport (CSTT) of the BUas Academy of Tourism (AfT). The mobility part is carried out by the Urban Intelligence professorship of the Academy for Built Environment and Logistics (ABEL).The research question is “what is the environmental impact of various circular (behavioural) options around 1) holidays and 2) passenger mobility?” The consumer perspective is demarcated as follows:For holidays, transportation and accommodation are included, but not food, attractions visited and holiday activitiesFor mobility, it concerns only the circular options of passenger transport and private means of transport (i.e. freight transport, business travel and commuting are excluded). Not only some typical trips will be evaluated, but also the possession of a car and its alternatives.For the calculations, we make use of public databases, our own models and the EAP (Environmental Analysis Program) model developed by the University of Groningen. BUAs projectmembers: Centre for Sustainability, Tourism and Transport (AT), Urban Intelligence (ABEL).
To what extent does receiving information about either popular attractions or less-visited at-tractions, presented as “highlights” of the city, influence the movement of tourists to popular or less-visited attractions, and how does this differ by information channel through which the information is presented? To what extent does receiving information about either popular attractions or less-visited at-tractions, presented as “highlights” of the city, influence tourists’ experience, including their evaluations of the destination, their visit as a whole, and the specific information channel they received, and how does this differ by information channel through which the information is presented? What implementation models and financing mechanisms are available for DMO’s to spread tourists using the information channels tested, contingent on their effectiveness as measured by the previous experiment?Societal issueDestination Management Organisations (DMOs) are looking for interventions that effectively discourage tourists from visiting crowded hotspots and entice them to visit less crowded locations. Interventions like changing infrastructure, charging entrance fees and re-serving site access are either too expensive, too invasive or politically controversial. It is much easier to intervene on tourists' behaviour by informing them about alternatives.Collaborative partnersNHL Stenden, Travel with Zoey, Amsterdam and Partners, Wonderful Copenhagen, Mobidot.
The project ‘Towards resilient leisure, tourism and hospitality (LTH) ecosystems in Europe’ addresses the critical problem of unsustainable practices in the tourism and travel industry. The LTH industry is ‘back on track’ after recovering from the global Covid-19 crisis. Destinations show increased numbers of international arrivals and rapid growth of tourism-related revenues. It is foreseen that cities like Amsterdam, but also vulnerable natural areas, will receive record numbers of visitors in the coming decade. The dominant economic model operating within the industry nonetheless prioritizes short-term gains, resulting in extreme exploitation of resources, labour, and local communities, evidenced by negative impacts in European destinations like Venice and the Canary Islands. The project aims to shift the industry’s focus to long-term sustainability, addressing systemic constraints and facilitating a transition that aligns with European priorities for a sustainable and just future. It builds vital connections between regional, national, and European research priorities by addressing and advocating for climate and social justice. Regionally, it investigates best practices across diverse tourism environments in Finland, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Scotland, and The Netherlands. Nationally, it challenges the status quo by proposing alternative governance frameworks that individual countries could adopt to encourage sustainable tourism practices. On a European scale, the project aligns with EU goals of climate action and sustainable development, supporting objectives of the European Green Deal and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It aims to build solid theoretical foundations necessary for a transition towards more resilient and environmentally and socially inclusive LTH ecosystems. Through integrating insights from multiple regions, the project transcends local boundaries and offers scalable solutions that can influence policy and industry standards at both national and European levels. The project's transdisciplinary nature ensures that proposed solutions are grounded in diverse eco-socioeconomic contexts, making them robust and adaptable.
