It won\u2019t surprise you to know that not all holidays are equal when it comes to their carbon footprint. That said, you may not be aware of how much they differ or which holidays create the most (and least) carbon emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article, we carbon label and categorise 10 types of holidays into high, medium and low carbon emissions and explain where the emission hotspots generally are. Then we\u2019ll put forward our vision for how holiday companies can start to influence customer choice towards lower carbon options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With tourism responsible for roughly 8% of carbon emissions, it\u2019s clear we need to take action now, before there is nowhere left worth visiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note:<\/strong> we haven\u2019t included food in the calculations as these would be similar for all trips and wouldn\u2019t aid the comparison. We are London based carbon consultants, so all trips start from here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These are holidays that create more than 2 tonnes of GHGs per person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This trip tops the list of the highest emitting holidays. Included in our assumptions are flights to Ushaia on the southern tip of Argentina via Buenos Aires, a short taxi transfer and accommodation on the ship. Transport is usually the highest emitting element of any holiday and the reason this is so high is simply because you\u2019re constantly moving. Most Antarctic cruises are 14 days or longer so we\u2019ve gone for the lower end of the spectrum. Ironically, every cruise of this type is responsible for melting around 3.3 kilometres of sea ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Carbon emitted for a family of four: 33.6 tonnes of CO2e<\/p>\n\n\n\n Skiing itself is not a very carbon intensive activity since ski resorts run on electricity and the emissions are split between a large number of skiers and snowboarders. The difference is which country you ski in. That means the main carbon hotspot for this trip is the flight to the US. As you\u2019ll see later in the article, skiing in the French Alps has a significantly lower footprint, the lowest of all the holiday types we reviewed because of the shorter flight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Carbon emitted for a family of four: 9,2 tonnes of CO2e<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve included return flights to Nairobi, accommodation, one internal flight and 3 jeep safari days. The flights are the biggest emitting part of this trip creating 74% of the overall emissions, but by taking part some of your money may go towards conservation if spent right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Carbon emitted for a family of four: 8.8 tonnes of CO2e<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking the kids to Disneyland, Florida falls in the high category mainly because of the flights involved to get there. With US electricity having a relatively average carbon intensity, accommodation and theme park based activities only represent about 5% of the total carbon footprint. And, no, we didn\u2019t calculate the emissions of those Mickey Mouse ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Carbon emitted for a family of four: 8.6 tonnes of CO2e<\/p>\n\n\n\n Holidays in this bracket could still be called holidays of a lifetime and represent wonderful experiences, but come in at between 1-2 tonnes of CO2e per person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visiting the ancient city of Petra, swimming in the Dead Sea and experiencing the Bedouin culture is pretty spectacular and comes with a smaller carbon footprint than the trips above. This is thanks to a medium length flight and overground shared transport. Group tours like this can be a great way to cut transport emissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Carbon emitted for a family of four: 5.6 tonnes of CO2e<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pack your bucket and spade for a holiday of sun, sand and ouzo and your carbon footprint will be half that of a safari in Kenya. We\u2019ve included flights and accommodation because topping up your tan, playing beach ball and building sandcastles is about as low carbon as holiday activities get. The carbon emissions are relatively high due to the distance flown and the higher carbon intensity of accommodation in Greece which can be explained by the electricity mix (how they create electricity) and the amount of air-conditioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Carbon emitted for a family of four: 3.78 tonnes of CO2e<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re watching your carbon footprint then these are some trips to help you stay within budget. These holidays all have a carbon footprint of less than 1 tonne of CO2e per person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Want the luxury and relaxation of cruising without the massive carbon footprint? River cruising could be for you. Visit stunning European cities including Budapest, Salzburg and Vienna aboard a floating hotel for a half of the emissions of a flight from London to San Francisco. We\u2019ve included flights and accommodation on board and assumed visits will be on foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Carbon emitted for a family of four: 3.36 tonnes of CO2e<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visit the piazzas of the \u2018Eternal City\u2019, picture the battles at the Colosseum and check out the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City. Included in our calculations are flights from London, accommodation, the odd taxi and daily sight-seeing activities. You could further reduce the carbon footprint of this trip by taking the train but it would take a minimum of 15 hours each way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Carbon emitted for a family of four: 1.8 tonnes of CO2e<\/p>\n\n\n\n Believe it or not, a ski trip to France is one of the lowest carbon holidays you can take abroad. Thanks to a short flight time and the low carbon intensity of skiing and staying in France, the carbon footprint makes the lightest of impressions. What’s even more impressive is that if you travel by train (which is possible and doesn\u2019t take much longer than driving to the airport, flying and transferring to resort), you can bring those emissions down to a tiny 0.1 tonnes per person. We should note that whilst we\u2019ve included travel, accommodation, ski infrastructure and some bus travel, we haven\u2019t included ski equipment in our calculations. Rental has a lower impact than ownership so do rent skis and boots if you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Carbon emitted for a family of four: 1.04 tonnes of CO2e<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wilderness walking the West Highland Way is one of the most popular adventure itineraries in the UK. It\u2019s a 95 mile hike from Milngavie on the outskirts of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. The carbon footprint of this trip is kept to a minimum by travelling by train to the start of the trip and taking the train home again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Carbon emitted for a family of four: 0.36 tonnes of CO2e<\/p>\n\n\n\n To meet the climate targets set out in the Paris agreement, we need to get our personal footprint down to under 2 tonnes per year by 2050. In this scenario, none of the trips in the high or medium carbon category would be possible. Whilst the footprints of these trips should come down as the world decarbonises, long haul air travel still has a VERY long way to go. Even the increase in use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel won\u2019t reduce its carbon footprint as much as will be needed to meet Net Zero targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We know that not everyone will be convinced by a staycation. We also believe that travel is important for broadening minds, horizons and having new experiences. That being the case, we\u2019d like to advocate for all travel agencies and holiday companies to take a leaf out of Hilton Hotels\u2019 book. To reduce the carbon footprint of their restaurants, they overhauled their menus and did these three simple things: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The result is that diners are nudged towards, and have actually chosen, lower carbon options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, what if holiday companies did the same? Several operators have already started carbon labelling trips. Disappointingly (for us), travel to the destination is often not included and, when travelling abroad, that\u2019s nearly always the highest proportion of a trip\u2019s carbon emissions. This has to change. But done right, this approach could educate and nudge holiday-makers into making lower carbon and more sustainable choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How would you go about this? Easy. Measure the carbon footprints of your trips (including travel to the destination) and determine parameters to categorise them (like we have). From there, it would be a case of selecting which trips to keep and which fall into the \u2018too high\u2019 category. At the same time, identify strategies to continuously decarbonise your trips. The challenge for every business is to create happy customers with a smaller and smaller footprint every year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So what do you say? Are you ready for the next step? If so and you need help, we\u2019ve measured the carbon footprint of thousands of holidays and can work alongside you to decarbonise your itineraries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It won\u2019t surprise you to know that not all holidays are equal when it comes to their carbon footprint. That said, you may not be aware of how much they differ or which holidays create the most (and least) carbon emissions. In this article, we carbon label and categorise 10 types of holidays into high,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[625,409],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-mood-project","category-erasmus"],"yoast_head":"\nHigh emitting holidays<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Antarctic Cruise – 14 days – 8.4 tonnes of CO2e per person<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
US Ski Trip – 7 days – 2.3 tonnes of CO2e per person<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Kenyan Safari – 7 days – 2.2 tonnes of CO2e per person<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Disneyland Florida – 7 days – 2.15 tonnes of CO2e per person<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Medium emitting holidays<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jordan group tour – 7 days – 1.4 tonnes of CO2e per person<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Beach holiday in Greece – 7 days – 0.94 tonnes of CO2e per person<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Low emitting holidays<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Danube river cruise – 7 days – 0.84 tonnes of CO2e per person<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Rome city break – 7 days – 0.45 tonnes of CO2e per person<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Ski trip, French Alps – 7 days – 0.26 tonnes of CO2e per person<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Scotland Adventure – 7 days – 0.09 tonnes of CO2e per person<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What does all this mean for the future of holidays?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What can travel companies do?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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