This major study is the most extensive of its kind ever, both in terms of the breadth of the data and the timeframe covered by the research, providing insights of unprecedented detail.

We have been able to estimate the tourism carbon footprint across 175 countries, and across a time span of 11 years (2009 to 2020, inclusive). All of this data has been run through the MST framework (MST stands for “Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism”, a framework which the UN World Tourism Organization strongly endorses and promotes) and enables significant analysis, including back through the tourism industry supply chain.
Source data included tourism expenditure data, data on emissions intensity by sector and economic structure and trade data. In many cases, data sources were direct from government sources. Data was then carefully validated before being run through the model.
Currently, only New Zealand and Denmark publish official national tourism CO2 information. Many other countries should be encouraged to follow suit, as the necessary data, models, and measurement frameworks are available.
This model has enabled us to proceed with significant analysis, including the following examples:
- Emissions by domestic travel
- Emissions by inbound tourism
- Emissions by outbound tourism
- Emissions from local businesses
- Emissions from foreign producers
- Emissions from international flights
- Emissions from other sources, such as private vehicle use
Significantly, the researchers were able to analyse the relative position of all of the 175 countries (as well as specific groupings/combinations of them as required).
The study, including selection and treatment of databases plus methodology and modelling, has been extensively peer reviewed as part of the publication process to ensure the highest possible level of scientific rigour.
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Readers should download the full published paper for detailed research results, methodology, more detail around data sources and other relevant research parameters.