The Scottish Government's independent advisory body on sustainable development
Tourism, climate change and sustainable development
Thoughts from Commissioner Jan Bebbington speaking at the Tomorrow’s Tourism Conference – Choosing Our Future
Choosing Our Future is exactly what everyone will have to do over the next few years. From politicians, to business people and the ordinary person on the street, we all have to make choices that will determine the path ahead.
One of those choices is how we spend our spare time, including our holidays.
For many people flying is an aspiration rather than a reality - currently around 50% of the population do not fly and only 15% take three or more flights per year.
However demand for aviation is forecast to grow rapidly, as people increasingly view flying as a lifestyle essential, despite knowing the messages about the negative environmental impacts of flying.
The Scottish Government’s Climate Change Bill will set targets to avoid dangerous climate change but at the same time it is promoting tourism as a major growth industry for Scotland. To square this circle will take imagination and innovation.
In 2005, over 17 million tourists took overnight trips in Scotland with an annual tourist spend of £4.2m. Overseas guests account for 14% of visitors and tourism supports 9% of all employment in Scotland. Tourism is clearly important for the Scottish economy, but it also has environmental consequences.
A question that arises is what will be the role of aviation in carbon conscious world? Currently in comparison to other sectors, aviation is a small contributor to climate change emissions, but it is a rapidly growing contributor. A study by the Tyndall Centre[1] found that if aviation growth continues as predicted, all other parts of UK economy will need to be carbon neutral in order to hit the UK 2050 target (of a 60% reduction in emissions from a 1990 baseline). These reduction levels will require significant action to be taken. While aviation emissions are yet to be captured in climate change policy, it is highly likely that they will come into the fold in the future.
So what might tourism in Scotland look like if it were in line with sustainable development?
To determine the future model of tourism in Scotland, we must consider:
• how people get here
• how they travel around once they are here
• how long they stay
• what they eat and drink
• what they experience
• interactions with the local community (and the benefits arising from this)
A low carbon society does not mean no holidays or reduced leisure activities but it does mean thinking carefully about the choices Scotland will need to make.
Choosing less carbon intensive modes of transport, increasing the length of stay in Scotland (but travelling more slowly and savouring the experience) and eating local food will decrease the negative environmental impact of tourism. There is also a huge opportunity of bringing different tourists to Scotland. If land based, low carbon transport routes can be developed, people living in the UK/Europe could visit without flying - this constitutes a huge potential market. For this to happen, infrastructure improvements will be required to allow Scotland’s tourist industry to flourish.
The choices we all make now will determine our future, as well as that of our children and grandchildren.
References
[1] Transport Policy research paper ‘Policy clash: Can projected aviation growth be reconciled with the UK Government's 60% carbon-reduction target? By Alice Bows and Kevin Anderson
Read more about the SDC's work on aviation
