Work

Unraveling critical paths and inequalities in the tourism industry: An integrated water-energy-carbon nexus approach for China

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Tourism is a comprehensive industry that integrates diverse service sectors with complicatedly concurrent resource consumption and pollution. It forms a complex water-energy-carbon (W-E-C) footprint system that poses synergistic challenges to sustainable management. This study employs a multiregional input-output model and Structural Path Analysis to identify tourism’s W-E-C footprints and critical supply-chain paths in China. A tourism W-E-C nexus intensity index was developed to evaluate provincial resource-carbon coordination. Results show Jiangsu had the highest water footprint (2376 million m³, 13.4%), driven by accommodation; Guangdong led in carbon and energy footprints (46 million tons, 9.8%; 15 million tce, 10.6%), due to transportation. Key energy transfer path is “Transport→Petroleum processing”. Accommodation and catering showed severe water inequality (Gini = 0.472). Tibet’s overall tourism water share exceeded 80%, while energy and carbon were both <9%, indicating imbalance from limited industrial diversification. These findings provide full scale of environmental externalities to support sustainable and balanced regional tourism strategies.

Source: Sustainable Futures

DOI: 10.1016/j.sftr.2026.102247