As Australians gear up for the holiday season, new research has revealed the growing environmental cost of global tourism.

The University of Queensland-led study, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications today, found tourism is now responsible for almost a tenth of all greenhouse gas emissions.

The study, covering the entire tourism supply chain — everything from flights to souvenirs — found emissions from the sector surged by 40 per cent over the past decade, reaching 5.2 gigatonnes in 2019.

That’s equivalent to the emissions of 1.13 billion cars on the road for a year.

Tourism now accounts for 9 per cent of the world’s total emissions, with experts warning the figure could double every 20 years, fuelled by a growing desire to explore the world.

“We anticipate annual increases in emissions of 3 to 4 per cent,” report author Ya-Yen Sun, from UQ’s Business School, said.

The study — which also included researchers from Griffith University, the University of Sydney, and Sweden’s Linnaeus University — analysed tourism patterns across 175 countries in the decade to 2019.

It found air travel and private vehicle use — including hire cars — were the largest contributors to tourism’s carbon footprint.

Air travel was responsible for more than half of direct tourism emissions.

“The major drivers behind the increasing emissions are the slow adoption of new technologies by tourism operators and a rapid growth in demand,” Dr Sun said. 

The United States, China, and India were responsible for 60 per cent of the total increase in tourism emissions, while Australia ranked 12th on a list of countries with the biggest carbon footprint.

“Compared to other sectors within Australia, tourism-related emissions have been growing seven times faster than the rest of the economy,” Dr Sun said.

The report found that while the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily eased tourism’s climate impact, the swift recovery in global demand meant emissions had returned to 2019 levels.

Australians, meanwhile, are travelling overseas in record numbers. 

What’s the solution?

Dr Sun said there were a number of ways the sector’s carbon footprint could be cut.

“Cutting back on marketing long-haul travel and identifying a national growth threshold would also help rein in the rapid expansion of emissions.”

Airservices Australia, a federal government owned organisation responsible for managing the country’s air traffic, said it had set a target to reduce carbon emissions by 10 per cent per flight by 2030.

In a statement, it said it was implementing measures to improve fuel efficiency through flexible flight tracks to enable pilots to take advantage of prevailing winds, and changes to air traffic sequencing to avoid delays.

Australia’s major airlines have pledged to reach net-zero by 2050, by investing in more modern, fuel-efficient aircraft and sustainable aviation fuel.

Dr Sun called for governments to formally measure tourism emissions as a first step toward addressing the issue.

“Only New Zealand has official tourism-related emissions statistics,” she said.

The federal government launched its Tourism Emissions Reduction Program in March this year, which helps operators measure and reduce their carbon emissions through waste reduction and renewable energy sources.

The government has pledged to reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, with a long-term goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Dr Sun said travellers must do their part, alongside tourism operators.

“Individuals need to reconsider their travel decision process, consider travelling to places that are closer to home and use public transportation instead of private vehicles.

“At a local level, tourism operators could look to renewable electricity for accommodation, food and recreational activities and switch to electric vehicles for transport.”

‘We all need to take action’

In the lush rainforest of Far North Queensland, one tourism company is determined to lower its impact on the environment.

Tropic Wings, based in Cairns, has been guiding visitors through destinations like the Daintree National Park and Kuranda for more than four decades but made a significant leap in 2019, when it became the first tourism operator in Australia to introduce electric buses to their fleet.

“Buses get very hot in Far North Queensland and we need to keep the air-conditioning going,” general manager Colin Anderson said.

“We had a problem with buses idling near tourist attractions, releasing fumes, and we thought there must be a better way.”

They now have 13 electric buses, about a third of their total fleet, with plans to convert 80 per cent of their vehicles to electric by 2030.

He said the move had not been without challenges or cost.

“Being the first to electrify a fleet in this touring area, it’s been a $12.5 million project,” Mr Anderson said.

“We received $4.75 million from ARENA’s Driving the Nation program (a government fund investing in cheaper and cleaner transport) which helped reduce some of the risk.”

Mr Anderson said climate change was one of the biggest challenges facing a region that is home to the Great Barrier Reef and World Heritage-listed rainforests.

“By reducing emissions in our operations, we’re helping to protect these natural treasures for future generations.