IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/touman/v65y2018icp1-13.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Changing travel patterns in China and ‘carbon footprint’ implications for a domestic tourist destination

Author

Listed:
  • Luo, Fen
  • Becken, Susanne
  • Zhong, Yongde

Abstract

Mitigating tourism's emissions, in particular related to transportation is critical, to achieve the broader national emission reduction targets in developing countries. To gain a better understanding of the carbon emissions related to one of Chinese top destinations, and assess changes over time, this article analyses the travel patterns of both domestic and international visitors to Zhangjiajie, Hunan province. Two points in time are examined, namely 2009 and 2015. The results show that despite some contraction towards closer and shorter trips, the overall growth (a near doubling in arrivals) led to a substantial increase in carbon emissions. The increasing role of the private car and high-speed rail has been noted in particular. The average transportation carbon footprint of visitors to Zhangjiajie changed from 94.55 kg CO2 in 2009 to 82.97 kg in 2015 per trip, and 18.87 kg in 2009 to 16.46 kg in 2015 per visitor day.

Suggested Citation

  • Luo, Fen & Becken, Susanne & Zhong, Yongde, 2018. "Changing travel patterns in China and ‘carbon footprint’ implications for a domestic tourist destination," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 1-13.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:65:y:2018:i:c:p:1-13
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2017.09.012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517717302017
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.09.012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chengcai Tang & Linsheng Zhong & Wenjing Fan & Shengkui Cheng, 2015. "Energy consumption and carbon emission for tourism transport in World Heritage Sites: a case of the Wulingyuan area in China," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 0(2), pages 134-150, May.
    2. Zhu Liu & Dabo Guan & Douglas Crawford-Brown & Qiang Zhang & Kebin He & Jianguo Liu, 2013. "A low-carbon road map for China," Nature, Nature, vol. 500(7461), pages 143-145, August.
    3. Zhu Liu, 2015. "China?s Carbon Emissions Report 2015," Working Paper 269176, Harvard University OpenScholar.
    4. Filimonau, Viachaslau & Dickinson, Janet & Robbins, Derek & Reddy, Maharaj Vijay, 2013. "The role of ‘indirect’ greenhouse gas emissions in tourism: Assessing the hidden carbon impacts from a holiday package tour," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 78-91.
    5. Loo, Becky P.Y. & Li, Linna, 2012. "Carbon dioxide emissions from passenger transport in China since 1949: Implications for developing sustainable transport," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 464-476.
    6. Gossling, Stefan & Hansson, Carina Borgstrom & Horstmeier, Oliver & Saggel, Stefan, 2002. "Ecological footprint analysis as a tool to assess tourism sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2-3), pages 199-211, December.
    7. Walz, A. & Calonder, G.-P. & Hagedorn, F. & Lardelli, C. & Lundstrom, C. & Stockli, V., 2008. "Regional CO2 budget, countermeasures and reduction aims for the Alpine tourist region of Davos, Switzerland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 811-820, February.
    8. Turner, Karen & Munday, Max & McGregor, Peter & Swales, Kim, 2012. "How responsible is a region for its carbon emissions? An empirical general equilibrium analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 70-78.
    9. Luo, Fen & Moyle, Brent D. & Bao, Jigang & Zhong, Yongde, 2016. "The role of institutions in the production of space for tourism: National Forest Parks in China," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 47-55.
    10. Dolnicar, Sara & Laesser, Christian & Matus, Katrina, 2010. "Short-haul city travel is truly environmentally sustainable," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 505-512.
    11. Stefan Gössling & Paul Peeters & Daniel Scott, 2008. "Consequences of Climate Policy for International Tourist Arrivals in Developing Countries," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(5), pages 873-901.
    12. Gössling, Stefan & Scott, Daniel & Hall, C. Michael, 2015. "Inter-market variability in CO2 emission-intensities in tourism: Implications for destination marketing and carbon management," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 203-212.
    13. Sun, Ya-Yen, 2014. "A framework to account for the tourism carbon footprint at island destinations," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 16-27.
    14. Tang, Zi, 2015. "An integrated approach to evaluating the coupling coordination between tourism and the environment," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 11-19.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lingling Chen & Brijesh Thapa & Wei Yan, 2018. "The Relationship between Tourism, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Economic Growth in the Yangtze River Delta, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-20, June.
    2. Bing Xia & Suocheng Dong & Zehong Li & Minyan Zhao & Dongqi Sun & Wenbiao Zhang & Yu Li, 2022. "Eco-Efficiency and Its Drivers in Tourism Sectors with Respect to Carbon Emissions from the Supply Chain: An Integrated EEIO and DEA Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-26, June.
    3. Aijun Liu & Taoning Liu & Xiaohui Ji & Hui Lu & Feng Li, 2019. "The Evaluation Method of Low-Carbon Scenic Spots by Combining IBWM with B-DST and VIKOR in Fuzzy Environment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-30, December.
    4. Olga Broto & Alba Puig-Denia & Rafael Lapiedra, 2021. "How to Enhance Sustainability through Technology Usage: An Analysis of Managerial Capabilities and Gender in the Tourism Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-13, December.
    5. Asif Razzaq & Arshian Sharif & Paiman Ahmad & Kittisak Jermsittiparsert, 2021. "Asymmetric role of tourism development and technology innovation on carbon dioxide emission reduction in the Chinese economy: Fresh insights from QARDL approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(1), pages 176-193, January.
    6. Kai Wang & Chang Gan & Yan Ou & Haolong Liu, 2019. "Low-Carbon Behaviour Performance of Scenic Spots in a World Heritage Site," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-23, July.
    7. Ling Li & Jingjing Li & Ling Tang & Shouyang Wang, 2019. "Balancing Tourism’s Economic Benefit and CO 2 Emissions: An Insight from Input–Output and Tourism Satellite Account Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-19, February.
    8. Zha, Jianping & He, Lamei & Liu, Yang & Shao, Yuhong, 2019. "Evaluation on development efficiency of low-carbon tourism economy: A case study of Hubei Province, China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 47-57.
    9. Chengcai Tang & Ziwei Wan & Pin Ng & Xiangyi Dai & Qiuxiang Sheng & Da Chen, 2019. "Temporal and Spatial Evolution of Carbon Emissions and Their Influencing Factors for Tourist Attractions at Heritage Tourist Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-19, October.
    10. Wang, Qi & Lu, Shaokai, 2022. "The influence of hybrid accessibility on tourism economy in prefecture-level cities: Evidence from China's high-speed rail network," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Can Tansel TUGCU & Mert TOPCU, 2018. "The impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on tourism: Does the source of emission matter?," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania - AGER, vol. 0(1(614), S), pages 125-136, Spring.
    2. Chao Bi & Jingjing Zeng, 2019. "Nonlinear and Spatial Effects of Tourism on Carbon Emissions in China: A Spatial Econometric Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Sun, Ya-Yen, 2016. "Decomposition of tourism greenhouse gas emissions: Revealing the dynamics between tourism economic growth, technological efficiency, and carbon emissions," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 326-336.
    4. Chengcai Tang & Linsheng Zhong & Wenjing Fan & Shengkui Cheng, 2015. "Energy consumption and carbon emission for tourism transport in World Heritage Sites: a case of the Wulingyuan area in China," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 39(2), pages 134-150, May.
    5. Tang, Chengcai & Zhong, Linsheng & Ng, Pin, 2017. "Factors that Influence the Tourism Industry's Carbon Emissions: a Tourism Area Life Cycle Model Perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 704-718.
    6. Shuxin Wang & Yiyuan Hu & Hong He & Genxu Wang, 2017. "Progress and Prospects for Tourism Footprint Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-17, October.
    7. Kang-Ting Tsai & Tzu-Ping Lin & Yu-Hao Lin & Chien-Hung Tung & Yi-Ting Chiu, 2018. "The Carbon Impact of International Tourists to an Island Country," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-12, May.
    8. Horng, Jeou-Shyan & Hu, Meng-Lei (Monica) & Teng, Chih-Ching (Chris) & Hsiao, Han-Liang & Liu, Chih-Hsing (Sam), 2013. "Development and validation of the low-carbon literacy scale among practitioners in the Taiwanese tourism industry," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 255-262.
    9. Jianping Zha & Rong Fan & Yao Yao & Lamei He & Yuanyuan Meng, 2021. "Framework for accounting for tourism carbon emissions in China: An industrial linkage perspective," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(7), pages 1430-1460, November.
    10. Chengcai Tang & Ziwei Wan & Pin Ng & Xiangyi Dai & Qiuxiang Sheng & Da Chen, 2019. "Temporal and Spatial Evolution of Carbon Emissions and Their Influencing Factors for Tourist Attractions at Heritage Tourist Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-19, October.
    11. Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel & Driha, Oana M. & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Sinha, Avik, 2020. "The effects of tourism and globalization over environmental degradation in developed countries," MPRA Paper 100092, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Kai Wang & Chang Gan & Yan Ou & Haolong Liu, 2019. "Low-Carbon Behaviour Performance of Scenic Spots in a World Heritage Site," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-23, July.
    13. Mattia Cai, 2016. "Greenhouse gas emissions from tourist activities in South Tyrol," Tourism Economics, , vol. 22(6), pages 1301-1314, December.
    14. Hannah Sharp & Josefine Grundius & Jukka Heinonen, 2016. "Carbon Footprint of Inbound Tourism to Iceland: A Consumption-Based Life-Cycle Assessment including Direct and Indirect Emissions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-23, November.
    15. Raúl Hernández-Martín & Hugo Padrón-Ávila, 2021. "The Carbon Footprint of Airport Ground Access as Part of an Outbound Holiday Trip," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-19, August.
    16. Gabriel Brătucu & Codruța Adina Băltescu & Nicoleta Andreea Neacșu & Dana Boșcor & Ovidiu Mircea Țierean & Anca Madar, 2017. "Approaching the Sustainable Development Practices in Mountain Tourism in the Romanian Carpathians," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-20, November.
    17. Sun, Ya-Yen, 2014. "A framework to account for the tourism carbon footprint at island destinations," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 16-27.
    18. Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel & Abbas, Jaffar & He, Chang & Pilař, Ladislav & Shah, Syed Ale Raza, 2023. "Tourism, urbanization and natural resources rents matter for environmental sustainability: The leading role of AI and ICT on sustainable development goals in the digital era," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    19. Sun, Ya-Yen & Gossling, Stefan & Zhou, Wanru, 2022. "Does tourism increase or decrease carbon emissions? A systematic review," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    20. Dolnicar, Sara & Laesser, Christian & Matus, Katrina, 2010. "Short-haul city travel is truly environmentally sustainable," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 505-512.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:65:y:2018:i:c:p:1-13. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/tourism-management .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.