Work

The Low-Carbon Imperative: Destination Management under Urgent Climate Change

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: To stay within the safe boundaries of global warming, the world now has 30 years to decarbonize its economy. This represents a very significant challenge for tourism as a growth system. Much attention has been paid to different tourism subsectors such as aviation, accommodation, and activities to reduce emissions, mostly on the basis of (future) technology. However, the Paris Agreement demands immediate action and significant year-on-year progress on a zero-carbon trajectory. This article discusses destination management under the new low-carbon imperative. It analyses challenges, including economic viability and resilience, that have also gained importance in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and explores opportunities for better profitability on the basis of a leakage/spending value dichotomy proposition. The final section highlights the foremost role that destination managers must play in building prosperous and resilient low-carbon tourism destination systems and discusses the key insights for destination managers.

Source: Journal of Travel Research

DOI: 10.1177/0047287520933679

Authors: Stefan Gössling, James Higham

Institutions: Vestlandsforsking, University of Otago

Language: English

Topic: Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research

Subfield: Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,000