Tourism set to suffer from climate change it generates

he booming worldwide tourism industry could prove its own worst enemy by contributing to the global warming threatening some of the planet’s prized destinations, UN agencies in Davos, Switzerland warned.

If no measures are taken, tourism’s impact on climate change is set to more than double in the next 30 years, according to advance data from a report released by the UN tourism, environment and weather agencies for an international meeting in Davos.

"The tourism industry is both challenged by climate change and a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions," said UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive director Achim Steiner.

Coastal, mountain and nature destinations, especially in poor countries or island states like the Maldives, are likely to be the most affected by weather shifts and rising sea levels, according to extracts from the report on climate change and tourism.

While traffic to other destinations in more temperate areas might grow, global warming could drain a vital part of the economic lifeblood of some least-developed countries.

"Climate change is real, its effects are proven, and the tourism sector has to play its part in contributing to the solution of the challenge it poses," said UN World Tourism Organization Secretary General Franco Frangialli.

The UN agencies, ministers, industry executives and climate experts are due to discuss the issue at a three-day meeting in this Swiss Alpine resort.

Travel is growing rapidly, reaching about 842 million trips worldwide last year and growing at an annual rate averaging 6.5 percent since 1950, according to the UNWTO.

The number of international trips is expected to nearly double to 1.5 billion by 2020.

Transport, accommodation and other tourism activities already account for four to six percent of global greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change, according to the report, which is due to be released later this year.

The industry’s growth could lead to a 150 percent increase in its carbon dioxide emissions alone in the next 30 years, the UNWTO, UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.

The total business volume of international tourism equals or surpasses that of oil exports, food production or the auto industry, according to the UNWTO, although it gave no concrete figure.

Travel to and from the poorest countries that rely on tourism as primary part of their trade represents only a small proportion of trips, but they are among the ones most exposed to climate change, Frangialli stressed.

He said that overall efforts in the industry to tackle climate change would contribute to poverty reduction in such countries.

"Tourism is an important player in both as it represents the main economic driving force for several developing states," Frangialli added.

The Davos meeting is due to set the course for a ministerial summit on tourism and climate change in London on Nov. 13. (AFP)