According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTCC) data stating that 11 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by tourism activities, this rate is expected to double by 2050, and it is important to make tourism activities sustainable to stop this trend.
According to the news of tourism news Centre, the news source of the tourism sector, Stefan Gössling, who works on sustainable tourism and transportation and has many books on the subject, stating that one of the most important stakeholders of tourism is air transport and that 4 percent of the world population travels beyond the borders of the country in a year, said that the aviation sector is responsible for 10 percent of global carbon emissions.
Explaining that there are discussions on the use of environmentally friendly battery, biofuel, hydrogen or synthetic fuels in aircraft for sustainable aviation, Gössling stated that some of these are not realistic options in the short term due to resource shortages and some are not yet developed at a level that can be used in aircraft. Referring to the issue of the aviation sector reaching the carbon net zero target set for 2050, Gössling emphasised that different fuels are also needed for this, but at this point, the effort of the aviation sector to reduce emissions is zero, and even if there are other initiatives on the subject, their effects will be very little, Gössling stated that not every touristic activity has the same impact on the climate crisis and continued as follows:
''Cruise tourism is a very good example in this regard. Cruises are responsible for 1.5 per cent of carbon emissions from tourism. Because they spend a lot of energy. Considering that air travel is also used to transport these ships, cruises are an environmental disaster. The annual amount of carbon emission per tourist is around 5 tonnes. We know that this figure is too high due to food and beverage, travel, accommodation and other consumption, and we need to reduce it to the current sustainable level of 3 tonnes.''
Pointing out that climate change directly affects tourism activities as tourism triggers global warming, Gössling noted that the activities in the sector are directly related to weather conditions and said
''Snow is a very simple example of this situation. We have started not to see snow anymore, and there are difficulties in winter tourism in the Alps. If this continues, you cannot have winter tourism. By the end of this century, we will have lost all the coral reefs in the world. Imagine the Red Sea without coral reefs. Naturally, there will be no tourist activities focused on diving or snorkelling because the source of this tourism will have disappeared.''