Carbon Footprint Evaluation Based on Tourist Consumption toward Sustainable Tourism in Japan

• Main Authors: Yusuke Kitamura, Yuki Ichisugi, Selim Karkour, Norihiro Itsubo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-03-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: life cycle assessment (lca); carbon footprint (cfp); tourism
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/6/2219

The importance of the contribution of tourism to climate change has been noted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). By combining a process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) and input−output analysis, several researchers have attempted to evaluate the impacts of the tourism industry, as well as its products and services. Indeed, the tourism sector has a wide range of industries, including travel and tours, transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, amusement, souvenirs, etc. However, the existing cases do not show a breakdown of the impact on climate change. In this paper, the carbon footprint (CFP) of the Japanese tourism industry was calculated based on tourist consumption, using the Japanese input−output table and the Japanese tourism industry. We demonstrate that the total emissions were approximately 136 million t-CO2 per year. The contribution ratio of each stage is as follows: Transport 56.3%, Souvenirs 23.2%, Petrol (direct emissions) 16.9%, Accommodation 9.8%, Food and Beverage 7.5%, and Activities 3.0%. Then, in the breakdown, the impacts are in the following order: Air transport 24.7%, Petrol (direct emissions) 16.9%, Accommodation 9.8%, Food and Beverage 7.5%, Petrol 6.1%, Textile products 5.3%, Food items 4.9%, Confectionery 4.8%, Rail transport 3.9%, Cosmetics 1.9%, and Footwear 1.8%. In addition to transportation, this research also highlights the contribution from souvenirs, accommodation, and food and beverages.