A framework to account for the tourism carbon footprint at island destinations

Ya Yen Sun

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

113 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Given concerns over greenhouse gases and the role of tourism in generating such environmental externality, a consistent carbon measurement framework is needed. This paper combines principles derived from production and consumption accounting measures to better allocate the responsibility for carbon emissions. Utilizing a boundary that includes domestic tourism expenditure, inbound tourism expenditure, and local spending associated with outbound travel, this paper (a) proposes a framework to measure the domestic total carbon effect and foreign-sourced effect, and (b) applies the analytical framework to Taiwan. The empirical study indicates that the carbon emissions for domestic tourism industries, international aviation, and imports accounted for 47%, 28% and 25% of the tourism carbon footprint. It is suggested that an island's dependence on both aviation and international trade leads to a larger share of emissions outside their geographic territory with respect to tourism development.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)16-27
Number of pages12
JournalTourism Management
Volume45
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014 Dec

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Development
  • Transportation
  • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management
  • Strategy and Management

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