WTTC Reveals APAC Travel & Tourism Sector’s Climate Footprint 

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and Sustainable Tourism Global Center have unveiled new data detailing the climate footprint of the Travel & Tourism sector in the Asia Pacific region (APAC).

According to the data, between 2010 and 2019, the APAC Travel & Tourism sector decoupled its economic growth from its greenhouse gas emissions. The new data for the region reveals the total contribution to APAC’s GDP grew on average 7.3% annually, whilst greenhouse gas emissions increased by just 4% during the same period. The data also shows how the sector’s emissions intensity continues to decrease.

In 2010, for every $1 USD of the region’s Travel & Tourism GDP, the sector emitted 0.94kg of greenhouse gas emissions.  But in 2019, when Travel & Tourism was at its peak, this figure had dropped by more than 26% to 0.69kg, demonstrating the progress of changes implemented by governments and business leaders across the Asia-Pacific region to create a more sustainable sector. The new data shows that in 2019 the sector was responsible for an average of just 10.3% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the APAC region.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “We are now able to give governments across the Asia-Pacific region the insights they need to make significant steps towards the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Travel & Tourism sector in the region has decoupled its economic growth from its greenhouse gas emissions and reduced its emissions intensity by an incredible 26%. But while this shows progress, a lot more needs to be done.”

“To reach our goals and ambitions, we must make bigger and bolder steps to reduce our absolute emissions. Government support will be crucial in accelerating the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels which will have a significant impact on our footprint, as well as bringing in more renewable energy to our national grids”, Simpson added.