Climate scientists in Australia say tourism causes over 8 per cent of greenhouse gasses. This figure will increase in the future. Their study looked at the tourism carbon footprint. It looked at the CO2 emissions from transport, events, hotels, restaurants and shopping. Over 18 months, researchers looked at tourism in 189 countries. A researcher said her team studied the impact on the environment of over one million businesses involved in tourism.
Domestic travel caused more CO2 emissions than international travel. Air travel caused the most emissions. Flying will increase emissions as people become richer. The countries with the biggest tourism carbon footprints were the USA, China, India and Germany. Their carbon emissions will increase as more of their citizens travel. Holiday-makers should reduce their carbon footprint so their vacations cause less harm to Earth.