The research, according to an announcement, showcases an important achievement with the sector’s economic contribution growing faster than its environmental impact.
Last year, travel and tourism’s contribution to global GDP almost reached pre-pandemic levels at $9.9 trillion, just 4% shy of the sector’s peak. However, in 2023 global GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions were 12% below the 2019 peak, with GHG intensity (emissions per unit of GDP) falling 8.4% during this period. This demonstrates, said the report, that the sector’s growth is becoming cleaner.
In an interview with TravelPulse, Christopher Imbsen, WTTC director of sustainability, said that the organization’s aim is to “decouple” the industry’s carbon footprint and its growth.
While there has been a gradual increase in renewable energy use, he said, “it is not enough.” The overall message, said Imbsen, is: “We’re getting better but not fast enough.” He said the industry needs to scale up as far as low-carbon energy sources like hydro and solar, noting that the emergence from Covid has made some of that work more difficult.
In upcoming United Nations COP (Congress of the Parties) summit meetings on biodiversity and other topics, said Imbsen, WTTC wants to position travel and tourism as a part of reaching sustainability goals.
He said WTTC is not getting an automatic seat at the table in the financing for achieving these goals from financial institutions despite the fact that no other sector relies as much on nature as an economic driver.
“For me,” said Imbsen, “it’s obvious we should be consistently engaged at achieving these global goals. We need to make the case for being engaged strategically in subjects around nature.”
He said a Global Biodiversity Framework has been established where every country must set aside 30% of its marine and terrestrial areas as protected by 2030 – 30 by 30. He said tourism has the potential to make that goal a lucrative proposition.
Looking ahead, said Imbsen, the industry will be mandated to move ahead in certain areas if it doesn’t do so voluntarily.
One area is mandatory ESG (environmental, societal and governance) reporting which is coming up for Europe, the US and globally. Somehow, said Imbsen, there will be repercussions for everyone – even smaller players like travel advisors – so if they are not being cognizant now, they should get ready to understand their carbon footprint.
Larger companies will not deal with smaller entities like advisors if they are not active in sustainability goals.
The European Union, said Imbsen, is leading the way on these issues and, he said,” you must be serious about these issues.” The EU even has a Green Claims Directive which prevents companies from saying what they like about sustainability. They have to be able to substantiate it.
There is evidence, said Imbsen, that the industry did not learn some lessons from the pandemic. He pointed to continuing overtourism that is resulting in protests, as well as new taxes and regulations. However, he said, overtourism is not a tourism issue, it is an urban planning issue that involves infrastructure and many other concerns.
Increases in renewable energy use and reductions in fossil fuel reliance, according to WTTC, remain relatively modest, highlighting the need for more decisive action.
In 2023, the travel industry’s reliance on fossil fuel energy sources (oil, coal, and natural gas) dropped to 88.2% from 90% in 2019. The share of low-carbon energy sources (nuclear and renewables) increased from 5.1% in 2019 to 5.9% in 2023, reflecting ongoing efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
The resurgence of the global travel and tourism sector is also mirrored in tax revenues that accrue to governments from the direct taxes paid by the industry’s businesses, according to WTTC.
In 2023, total travel & tourism tax revenues amounted to $3.32 trillion. This equates to 9.6% of total global tax revenues. Governments must use these additional revenues, said WTTC, to reinvest in decarbonizing infrastructure, expanding renewable energies and supporting businesses in their green transition.
There is also a social side to tourism’s impact, said Imbsen, and a recent report from WTTC showed that women and youth were impacted by Covid more than men. One reason is that those demographics dominate in hospitality while men dominate in transport.
This has important policy implications, said Imbsen, including the need to protect vulnerable jobs through programs like microfinance, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs and flexible working arrangements. Employment among youth and women, he said, has not bounced back since the pandemic.
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