Susanne Becken

Energy consumption patterns in the accommodation sector—the New Zealand case ☆

Abstract The concept of sustainability is more and more established as an integral component in modern economies. A major threat to sustainability is the escalating demand for energy resulting in the depletion of natural resources and a concomitant threat to the global climate from the emissions produced. Although tourism and its sub-sectors, such as transport, accommodation, and attractions, constitute an increasingly important part of many economies, their contribution to energy use is not well researched. Particularly, in popular tourist destinations, such as New Zealand, tourism could be a significant contributor to energy consumption. As every tourist relies on the provision of accommodation, this is considered a core sub-sector within tourism. Previous case studies have indicated that accommodation is an energy-intense sector, however, comprehensive research on energy use patterns is missing. This paper contributes to the understanding of energy use within the accommodation sector by analysing the New Zealand scenario. The main objectives are the exploration of differences in energy consumption between hotel, bed and breakfast, motel, backpacker, and campground accommodation categories, and the role of factors such as business size in this consumption. Based on this analysis benchmarks are established for each category for total annual energy use and energy intensities, such as energy use per visitor night. When aggregated the total energy use of the accommodation sector in New Zealand is also estimated. The results reveal that hotels are the largest (net and per capita) energy consumers in the accommodation sector, making up 67% of the total 1.74 PJ consumed in 1999 in the accommodation sector. This constitutes 4.4% of the commercial sectors energy use and 0.4% of the total energy use in New Zealand.

Measuring National Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Tourism as a Key Step Towards Achieving Sustainable Tourism

Most tourism-related activities require energy directly in the form of fossil fuels or indirectly in the form of electricity often generated from petroleum, coal or gas. This consumption leads to the emission of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide. Tourism is not a traditional sector in the System of National Accounts and as a result no country possesses comprehensive national statistics on the energy demand or emissions specifically resulting from tourism. This paper suggests two approaches for accounting for carbon dioxide emissions from tourism: a bottom-up analysis involving industry and tourist analyses, and a top-down analysis using environmental accounting. Using the case study of New Zealand, we demonstrate that both approaches result in similar estimates of the degree to which tourism contributes to national carbon dioxide emissions. The bottom-up analysis provides detailed information on energy end-uses and the main drivers of carbon dioxide emissions. These results can be used for the development of targeted industry-based greenhouse gas reduction strategies. The top-down analysis allows assessment of tourism as a sector within the wider economy, for example with the purpose of comparing tourism’s eco-efficiency with other sectors, or the impact of macroeconomic instruments such as carbon charges.

Adapting to climate change and climate policy: progress, problems and potentials.

This introductory paper discusses tourisms role in relation to climate change mitigation and adaptation, at a time when climate change is at the forefront of many political discussions, including the 2009 Climate Summit in Copenhagen, and many business decisions. The development of tourism research in response to climate change in the past 25 years is outlined and limitations are identified. The paper also argues that while growing engagement with the challenge of climate change is evident across the tourism industry, this is still limited and not widespread. The minor role played by tourism interests in the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen is noted and discussed. Questions are raised around the willingness and ability of both the tourism industry and tourists to significantly reduce global emissions. The papers brought together in this Special Issue (Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 18.3) both highlight key challenges that tourism faces in its attempts to better understand and manage the problem of climate change, and suggest valuable ways forward.

A climate change vulnerability assessment methodology for coastal tourism

Coastal and marine environments are among the most popular areas for outdoor recreation and tourism. Coastal areas have also been identified as the most vulnerable to climate change, for example as a result of extreme events and sea-level rise. It will be increasingly important for coastal tourism destination managers to understand their vulnerability to climatic changes and to devise appropriate adaptation. This paper presents a five-step vulnerability assessment methodology for tourism in coastal areas. The five steps include (1) system analysis, (2) identification of activity and hazard sub-systems, (3) vulnerability assessments for the different sub-systems at risk, (4) integration for the destination as a whole and scenario analysis and (5) communication. The framework is illustrated by an example of how it might be applied to Fiji. The paper concludes that a consistent methodology, like the one proposed, will facilitate vulnerability assessments in a range of coastal destinations, allow comparison to be made of vulnerabilities across different situations, provide a basis for more research into specific adaptation measures and assist destinations to develop a more sustainable tourism industry.

Harmonising climate change adaptation and mitigation: the case of tourist resorts in Fiji.

Abstract Tourism in island states is vulnerable to climate change because it may result in detrimental changes in relation to extreme events, sea level rise, transport and communication interruption. This study analyses adaptation to climate change by tourist resorts in Fiji, as well as their potential to reduce climate change through reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. Interviews, site visitations, and an accommodation survey were undertaken. Many operators already prepare for climate-related events and therefore adapt to potential impacts resulting from climate change. Reducing emissions is not important to operators; however, decreasing energy costs for economic reasons is practised. Recommendations for further initiatives are made and synergies between the adaptation and mitigation approaches are explored.

Tourist consumption systems among overseas visitors: reporting on American, German, and Australian visitors to New Zealand

Abstract In recognition of the model of tourist consumption systems and inherent interdependencies between different decisions made by tourists, this paper attempts to define segments that behave similarly in relation to these travel decisions. The question was whether there exist typical combinations of travel choices at the country level (New Zealand), and whether these combinations can be used to develop rules for creating a useful and valid tourist typology. A three-step method was applied. First, a data set of international visitors gathered in 2000 was used to segment tourists into types based on their transport-accommodation behaviour. From this analysis, discriminating variables were identified that then allowed an easy classification of cases from other independent data sets (US, German and Australian visitors to New Zealand) into the same tourist types. This process involved application of primary classification rules and additional heuristics. The tourist types identified in the second segmentation closely resembled those generated in the initial segmentation across a range of variables. Hence, it was first shown that in New Zealand there exist definable tourist types, and second that these can be identified using simple decision rules. The extracted ‘travel styles’ are based on easily obtainable and objective characteristics, which makes them useful to identify and manage type-specific demands and resulting impacts at the destination. The typology could be used in further research on decision-making, distribution channels, geographical visitation patterns and economic impacts which would enable marketers and managers to better target their efforts. This study also revealed that different countries of origin are characterised by their preferences for specific travel styles, and while travel styles exist across nationalities, the country of origin has a modifying influence on the specific behaviour and the types’ profiles.

Innovation towards tourism sustainability : climate change and aviation

A wide range of publications has shown that the tourism sector is increasingly environmentally unsustainable. This is mainly caused by the contribution of aviation to a large and growing amount of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by tourism. In the light of this, we present an overview of developments in the aviation sector and discuss current options for innovation towards sustainability in three areas: technology, lifestyle, and policy. Due to continuing technological innovation, aviation will be more fuel efficient in the future. But possibilities are limited and will probably not reverse the trend of increasing overall emissions of tourism air transport. With respect to lifestyle it is shown that only a small number of tourist trips causes the main impact. Political innovation may concentrate on financial instruments like tax on international travel, levies on emissions or emission trading are considered. The main challenge will be product innovation within tourism directed at tourism with a smaller air transport component.

Segmenting Tourists by their Travel Pattern for Insights into Achieving Energy Efficiency

Tourists compose their trip of different travel choices across the transport, accommodation, and attractions/activities subsectors. Since these travel choices are characterized by different energy intensities, the energy use of a tourist trip as the combination of all travel choices varies for different tourists. To enable better management of energy use of tourism, the authors factor-cluster analyzed a set of travel choices of international tourists to New Zealand and aggregated tourists into types with similar travel patterns and energy consumption. Seven distinct clusters were obtained: a coach tourist, soft comfort traveler, auto tourist, camper, backpacker, tramper (hiker), and tourists who visit friends and relatives. These types were different both with regard to their total energy use and energy use per day within New Zealand. The understanding of different tourist types provides a basis for future energy conservation and efficiency strategies, which are briefly discussed.

The impacts of weather on tourist travel

Abstract Interest in the interactions between climate, weather and tourism has increased markedly in the last decade in response to climate change concerns; however, there is little empirical research on how tourists respond to the weather conditions they encounter. Thus, in this paper, we examine the impact of the weather on a sample of international tourists visiting New Zealand during the 2009–10 summer season. Based on weather-related changes made to tourists’ travel routes, the timing of their travel and activity participation while in New Zealand, respondents were segmented into three groups: those with ‘no travel changes’ during their trip, those with ‘some travel changes’ and those with ‘substantial travel changes’ to their trip. The results show a generally high level of changes made to trips, particularly in the less settled early summer season, and an interesting link with satisfaction. The research provides an empirical basis for a framework that would facilitate further research into the adaptive capacity of tourists towards climate variability and change.

Protected Areas in an era of global–local change

This review article advances debate and research on the global–local nexus that shapes, and increasingly determines, the existence of Protected Areas (PAs) and their function as areas of high conservation value as well as tourism destinations. The demands on PAs have grown from an initial focus on facilitating recreation experiences and species and habitat protection, to more inclusive and participatory approaches that seek to safeguard ecological services whilst also supporting regional and national livelihoods. We propose that the simultaneous analysis of global and local drivers of change will generate a deeper understanding of impact processes and response implications. To this end, a draft framework for better understanding the global–local nexus of PAs is developed and tested through a Delphi sketching approach to 20 experts in least developed, newly industrialised and developed countries. Key challenges, implications and opportunities for PA management and governance, and for tourism development at local and global levels (and their interactions), are discussed in follow-up papers to this review, including research priority areas, the measurement of tourism numbers, economic impact modelling, private PAs, the changing roles of zoning, the need for flexible, inclusive and accountable governance structures, and for better understanding of tourist behavioural change mechanisms.