Carbon Footprint Analysis of Tourism Life Cycle: The Case of Guilin from 2011 to 2022

• Main Authors: Cao, R. (Author), Ma, J. (Author), Mo, Y. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2023
• Subjects: accommodation footprint; carbon footprint; carbon neutrality; carbon peak; catering footprint; Guilin; low-carbon tour; tourist activities footprint; transportation footprint; world-class tourist city
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher; View in Scopus
• ISBN: 20711050 (ISSN)
• DOI: 10.3390/su15097124

Low-carbon tourism is an important way for the tourism industry to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. In order to promote the development of Guilin as a world-class tourism city and ensure the sustainable development of the tourism industry in Guilin, this paper combines the concept of carbon footprint and the theory of life cycle to build a tourists’ carbon footprint life cycle analysis model of Guilin. Taking tourists in Guilin as an example, the composition and changes of tourists’ carbon footprint are dynamically analyzed. The research shows that: (1) The overall tourism carbon footprint of Guilin showed an upward trend during 2011–2019. From 2020 to 2022, due to the impact of COVID-19, Guilin’s tourism carbon footprint has decreased significantly. The per capita carbon footprint of tourism in Guilin showed a downward trend from 2011 to 2022; (2) The order of the size of Guilin’s tourism carbon footprint is tourism transportation > tourism catering > tourism accommodation > tourism activities; (3) From 2011 to 2022, the carbon footprint of tourism transportation in Guilin showed an obvious narrowing state, while the carbon footprint of tourism accommodation, tourism activities, and tourism catering showed an obvious expanding trend. Based on the characteristics of the carbon footprint of Guilin’s tourism and the current situation of the development of Guilin’s tourism, this paper puts forward suggestions on reducing carbon emissions, forms a new tool for evaluating and constructing low-carbon tourism, and provides a scientific basis and practical reference significance for the sustainable development of low-carbon tourism in Guilin. © 2023 by the authors.