Stronger leadership essential for tourism industry's net-zero transition

23 January 2025

University of Queensland-led research has found that net-zero pledges and plans by tourism destination management organisations (DMOs)* fall short of meaningfully reducing tourism carbon emissions, highlighting the need for stronger leadership in the industry.

The global study of tourism carbon emissions inventories and 29 DMOs’ pledges and plans provides a clear roadmap for DMOs to become leaders in the transition to net-zero emissions.

Dr Ya-Yen Sun

UQ Business School researchers Dr Mireia Guix and Dr Ya-Yen Sun and their Griffith University co-author Dr Nazila Babakhani evaluated existing global DMO climate action plans and identified strengths and missed opportunities.

Their study presents a research-backed roadmap of 9 key factors that influence tourism emissions over time – visitor numbers, average spend per visitor, spending profile, energy efficiency, energy mix, supply chain, location, infrastructure investment, and market mix. It also details 4 broad decarbonisation responsibilities for DMOs moving forward.

The researchers noted that less than 2% of the 2400 DMOs worldwide had committed to net-zero pledges such as the Glasglow Declaration.

Even among committed DMOs, the researchers found limited evidence that their pledges were significantly reducing tourism emissions.

“Our framework empowers tourism destinations to strategise their climate actions by understanding their emissions sources and their capacity to influence change,” Dr Guix said.“

Dr Mireia Guix

"While over half of the 29 DMOs in our study focus on improving the energy efficiency of tourism businesses and promoting green services to tourists, these measures alone are insufficient.

“For instance, if a business improves its energy efficiency by 5% per year but demand grows by 10%, emissions will still increase.

“A holistic approach incorporating all 9 key factors is needed to address the source of tourism emissions and achieve net zero on time.”

Based on the roadmap, Dr Guix, Dr Sun and Dr Babakhani outlined 4 broad decarbonisation responsibilities for DMOs:
 

1. Take a leadership role in setting a growth threshold and prioritising low-emission visitor segments in their marketing campaigns.

DMOs are well positioned to develop proactive strategies to control visitor numbers.

Dr Guix, Dr Sun and Dr Babakhani said potential strategies could include limiting tourism growth in carbon-intensive markets, such as putting a cap on visitors from long-haul destinations.

They said DMOs could also promote low-carbon markets by encouraging domestic tourism, develop strategies to attract low-volume and high-spending tourists, and pressure policymakers to adopt market-based measures such as a departure tax. A departure tax is a fee paid by visitors that can serve as a mechanism to manage and mitigate the environmental impacts of tourism.

2. Coordinate with and lobby national and regional government and private industry for large-scale policy changes to align all interests towards an urgent net-zero transition for the sector’s long-term viability.

"For example, building a railway rather than a regional airport would have trickle-down effects on long-term spending, consumption patterns and tourist demographics," Dr Guix said.

3. Incentivise tourism businesses for their sustainable practices, such as providing subsidies to businesses pursuing certification or preferentially marketing low-carbon itineraries and products.

“DMOs can offer businesses access to specialised training and tools such as a carbon footprint calculator,” Dr Sun said.

4. Develop and promote low-carbon products, experiences and travel options, and educate tourists on reducing their carbon footprint.

Dr Guix said DMOs could encourage tourists to book extended stays and participate in slow tourism.

5. Decarbonise as organisations by calculating their own carbon footprints and adopting operational measures.

“DMOs can decarbonise by improving energy efficiency in their operations, harnessing renewable energy, reducing waste, promoting sustainable transportation for staff, and engaging staff in carbon literacy training,” Dr Sun said. 

“Comprehensive, multi-faceted strategies are essential for DMOs to contribute to net-zero emissions effectively,” Dr Guix said.

“Destinations must broaden their scope of actions and engage in difficult but necessary decisions to address all 9 decarbonisation factors.

“Our framework empowers DMOs to significantly reduce destination tourism carbon emissions by focusing efforts where they can make the biggest difference.”

The study was published as open access in the Journal of Sustainable Tourismhttps://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2024.2357377.

View the Tourism Destination Decarbonisation Toolkit.

*A DMO is a public or public-private organisation traditionally responsible for promoting tourism; today, they are increasingly tasked with managing the economic, social and environmental aspects of tourism through strategic planning and policy implementation.

 

Media contacts
Dr Mireia Guix
m.guix@uq.edu.au
+61 480 425 560

Dr Ya-Yen Sun
y.sun@business.uq.edu.au
+61 941 076 327

BEL Communications team
communications@bel.uq.edu.au

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