The global tourism industry – which accounted for 10% of GDP and 8% of global emissions in 2019 – is faced with the challenge of ensuring continued growth while working towards net-zero emissions goals. Several stakeholders in emerging markets and further afield offer useful case studies to understand what a decarbonised future for the industry could look like.
The global tourism industry faces numerous challenges when it comes to decarbonisation, as highlighted by a November 2021 report from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme and multinational consulting firm Accenture. In the years prior to the pandemic the sector thrived, recording its 10th consecutive year of growth in 2019, with 1.5bn international tourist arrivals worldwide. That same year, it contributed more than 10% of global GDP and accounted for around one in 10 jobs.
For a number of countries, tourism was a principal source of income prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the sector is also a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, before the pandemic, tourism was responsible for nearly 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with transportation and accommodation being the two main contributors.
Global Centre
However, many industry players are arguing that a return to business as normal could ultimately prove damaging and unsustainable. Instead, they argue, the sector should commit to net-zero emissions and adopt more environmentally conscious practices. A leading voice in this debate is the Sustainable Tourism Global Centre, a multinational coalition launched in October 2021 by Saudi Arabia that aims to accelerate the tourism sector’s transition to net-zero emissions. The countries invited to join during the coalition’s first phase were France, Germany, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UK and the US. Harvard University is supporting the initiative with research and capacity-building, while the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is helping to accelerate action throughout the industry.
The coalition faces an uphill struggle. Of the 250 businesses analysed in the WTTC report, around 42% had defined a climate target, of which 20% were aligned with the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi) guidance. The SBTi is a global body that provides companies with a defined framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. The significance of science-based targets is that they are universal, making it harder for companies to misjudge or misrepresent their sustainability performance. This is especially important as the WTTC report found that the sector applied different approaches to target metrics, deadlines, baselines and emissions-reduction commitments, which makes comparisons difficult.
Nevertheless, individual institutions and multilateral initiatives are taking steps to advance the industry’s decarbonisation. As the hospitality and travel segments are responsible for the lion’s share of tourism’s emissions, they are being targeted for urgent reform.
Aviation Transition
When it comes to air travel – a major source of emissions – initiatives are in place to help the industry transition to net zero. In 2016 the UN launched its Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). The scheme is intended to empower carriers to purchase emissions-reduction offsets from other sectors, thereby compensating for any increase in their own emissions. CORSIA’s pilot phase launched on January 1, 2021, with 88 countries participating. The first phase of the programme is voluntary and begins in 2024, followed in 2027 by a mandatory second phase.
The International Air Transport Association’s Aviation Carbon Exchange (ACE) was launched in November 2020 to support these efforts. ACE is a centralised marketplace for CORSIA-compliant emissions units, enabling airlines and other aviation stakeholders to trade carbon emissions credits. At the end of 2021 Qatar Airlines became the first carrier in the world to make a transaction on the ACE platform.
In many respects, Gulf airlines are leading the drive to become carbon neutral. At the 54th Annual General Meeting of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO) – held in Doha in November 2021 – a resolution was signed to reach net zero by 2050. Headquartered in Lebanon, AACO’s membership comprises 32 airlines based out of 19 countries. In August 2022 AACO identified incentives that would support sustainable aviation fuel production as key to helping them meet their net-zero target. Regional airlines are moving towards these targets.
In January 2023 the UAE’s Emirates and US-based GE Aviation completed the ground engine testing of the use of 100% sustainable aviation fuel in an aircraft. The two parties are hopeful that these exercises will show that wide-body commercial aircraft using jet fuel from alternative sources can lower carbon emissions, without encountering operational issues.
In December 2021 Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways launched a programme that allows passengers to offset carbon emissions by supporting renewable energy and community-based projects, such as investing in green energy or reforestation initiatives, during the booking process. The project has been implemented in partnership with CHOOOSE, a Norwegian firm that provides a platform for automated emissions calculations.
Even with these efforts, sector players do not expect the switch to be easy. Tony Douglas, CEO of the UAE’s Etihad Airways, told international press in May 2022 that net zero would be the sector’s “biggest challenge” as the region moves to meet its 2050 goals.
In May 2022 Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia, operated the world’s longest net-positive flight, offsetting nearly 350 tonnes of carbon emissions on a flight from Jeddah to Madrid. According to the airline, this sustainability push would contribute to the generation of wind energy for families in Gujarat, India. “The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 will see 100m visits to Saudi Arabia by the end of the decade,” Ibrahim Koshy, CEO of Saudia, said at a statement at the time. “A cornerstone of that vision is for the Kingdom to be a leader in sustainable and even regenerative tourism.”
Resort Trailblazers
A number of resorts and hotels are taking steps to make their practices more sustainable. In 2018 the Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort in Aruba became the first resort in the Caribbean – and one of the first in the world – to go carbon neutral. Since then, other resorts have followed suit. In Thailand, the Santiburi resort in Koh Samui was certified as carbon neutral in 2019 by the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation and VG reen. The hospitality industry and its clientele are becoming increasingly conscious of their environmental impact and a growing number of resorts are expected to prioritise carbon neutrality over the coming years.
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