Travel, Hospitality and Pollution and Climate Change

9 min reading time

Published on 17/10/19 - Updated on 17/03/22

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

This year, COP 25 will be held in Chile and will focus on oceans. 75% of the planet is covered by oceans and 10% of the remaining landmass is covered by glaciers and ice caps. In Monaco, in September 2019, a special report was presented that emphasized the need to act urgently to prioritize opportune, ambitious and coordinated initiatives to bring about lasting changes in oceans and the cryosphere. So how do hospitality and the travel industry figure into this?

The impact of Travel

The travel industry has grown intensively over the years with international tourist arrivals in 2018 totaling 1.4 billion (+6%), a figure that it was expected to reach two years later, according to the WTO January 2019 press release.  Stable fuel pricing means affordable air travel, and as connectivity improves in many destinations, source markets are increasingly diverse. The consequence of this is significant levels of pollution with high CO2 emissions.

Carbon footprint

 

While train travel would be the ideal mode of transportation, it is not necessarily viable over long distances due to time and logistics such as visas for every country traveled through and the need to change trains rather frequently. A new UN report suggests that while airplanes are increasingly fuel efficient, even if aviation meets its climate change targets, by 2050 aviation will have consumed 12% of the global carbon budget for 1.5C. And if it does not meet these targets? That consumption could be as much as 27%. One way to combat this is the use of biofuel.

Another culprit in global warming is the cruise industry which catered to over 26 million customers in 2018. Choosing cruise travel caused each passenger’s carbon footprint to triple. Moreover, these ships produce 15 gallons of hazardous chemical waste daily and use the dirtiest fuel. Cruise ships produce fumes and dump their trash, fuel and sewage in the ocean. Efforts are being made to power ships with electricity when they come to shore and to switch to cleaner fuels

While they are not yet widespread, sustainable cruises do exist and their numbers are growing, and Nordic countries are leading the way in this area.


 

Hurtigruten

 

Cruise line Hurtigruten uses hybrid ships, which are powered by a battery system. By 2021, Hurtigruten plans...

This content is for subscribers only. You have 80% left to discover.

Every week, the HON team brings you an expert look at the world of hospitality.

By becoming a member, you will have access to a complete ecosystem: exclusive content, jobs, etc.

BECOME A MEMBER

Already a member ?

For further

Every week, the HON team brings you an expert look at the world of hospitality. By becoming a member, you will have access to a complete ecosystem: exclusive content, jobs, etc.

BECOME A MEMBER

Sign up to add topics in favorite. Sign up to add categories in favorite. Sign up to add content in favorite. Register for free to vote for the application.

Already signed up? Already signed up? Already signed up? Already registered?