Ireland's tourism industry is responsible for 11.62 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2eq) a year according to a new study released on International Tourism Day.
That’s just over a fifth of the national greenhouse gas emissions, which the Environment Protection Agency said were 59.8 MtCO2eq the year researchers focused on.
Tourism is a vital part of the Irish economy, particularly in rural areas. It generates billions and supports around 260,000 jobs.
Since the sector must also move towards climate-neutrality, the Atlantic Technological University is aiming to help tourism to lower its emissions through an evidence-based approach to developing decarbonisation policies, plans and strategies for Ireland.
ATU’s study was carried out over a two-year period by postgraduate researcher Anita Conefrey.
She said: “Establishing the level of emissions that Irish tourism produces was only a small part of this research.
“Our main focus is to support the tourism stakeholders to decarbonise efficiently and effectively.”
ATU researchers used pre-pandemic (2019) figures to get an accurate picture of the impact of tourism on the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
They said 11.62 MtCO2eq was “a conservative estimate as the figure focuses on inbound, domestic and northern Irish visitors that stayed at least one night in the Republic of Ireland.”
But the figure “excludes emissions from outbound tourists and cruise ship passengers due to the limited data”.
Not including the international travel needed to get here the statistic was four MtCO2eq says ATU.
The study was based on 22.6 million tourists who generated an estimated €9.5 billion for the Irish economy, supporting around 260,000 jobs.
ATU say the second phase of their research will develop an evidence-based decarbonisation toolkit for tourism stakeholders supported by senior tourism researchers from the Sustainable Tourism Observatory at ATU.
Lead supervisor, Dr James Hanrahan, said: “The Irish tourism industry is an important economic driver for the country and has great potential to transition towards decarbonisation with the added benefit of having some of our top overseas markets as close neighbours.”
Reducing tourism emissions will need collaboration between tourism policymakers, planners, stakeholders, academics, and tourists.
ATU says it is committed to ensuring stakeholders are in a position to manage their carbon footprint efficiently and effectively.
And that their research will help the tourism sector to understand the levels of skills and training required to secure the future long-term sustainability of tourism in Ireland.
Dr John Carty added: “It is evident that Irish tourism stakeholders are trying to decarbonise, some establishments have already made drastic changes.
“But we need to bring everyone along on this journey.”
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