Methodology Report for www.travelandclimate.org Version 5.1

Report, 2026

Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. From having once been an activity for the rich and privileged, tourism and travel today are part of the everyday lives of the growing middle class in the world. Since the start of mass tourism in the 1960s, the number of tourists has doubled many times over. This rise in tourism has brought economic growth and positive social and cultural exchanges, but a number of sustainability challenges from tourism have also been highlighted in the media and by researchers: polluted seas, deforestation and soil erosion, littering, prostitution, displacement of local populations, and greenhouse gas emissions (Mowforth & Munt, 2015). The last challenge, in particular, has attracted increasing focus. The tourism industry is dependent on (air) travel. Flights account for 60-95% of the climate footprint of tourism, and growth in tourism goes hand in hand with more flights (Gössling et al., 2005). In 2017, air travel by Swedish residents had almost the same climate impact as all passenger vehicle traffic in Sweden (Kamb et al., 2018). The symbiotic relationship between air travel and tourism has created a clear goal conflict as destinations are investing more and more in trying to attract international tourists while there is simultaneous pressure on them to reduce their climate footprint.