Envisioning Tourism in 2030 and Beyond: The changing shape of tourism in a decarbonising world

An 87 page report produced by The Travel Foundation and CELTH, the central aim of which is to envision how travel will look by the turn of the decade as the world transitions to net zero.  The authors argue that action on decarbonising tourism has taken too long resulting in the options for achieving the goal narrowing, and that ‘system transformation’ is inevitable, as we cannot rely on overly optimistic strategies that pin their hopes on unproven or non-existent technologies that would allow for business-as-usual to continue. 

The analysis found only once scenario under which tourism could grow at the forecast rate and achieve decarbonisation based on changes in mode of travel and distance travelled, with 28% of all long distance travel by 2050 being by high speed rail. 

Part 1 of the report examines the sector’s image with regard to climate change, Part 2 describes the base scenario in detail while Part 3 considers the pathways to achieving decarbonisation and the interventions that each would entail. 

In Part 4 the report sets out the potential implications on different subsectors within the tourism ecosystem including on tour operators, NTOs and others. 

Many examples of action to reduce emissions at a local or national level are highlighted throughout the report.