Carbon footprints of travel to World Heritage Sites: communicating climate to potential tourists through a consumption-based life-cycle assessment

ABSTRACT

In this study, an input-output-based hybrid life cycle assessment method is used to calculate the carbon footprint of a tourist’s travel to sixteen United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites (WHS) including direct and indirect emissions. The carbon footprint of three trip styles (budget, mid-range expenses, and high-end) is calculated for each WHS, reflecting options available to heritage tourists. This study is part of a more extensive study that created a climate communication recognition scheme (CCRS) for UNESCO WHS to communicate information about climate change to potential tourists and heritage site managers, elaborating and extending upon communication tools such as environmental product information schemes, certifications, and ecolabels. The results are intended for educational purposes and contribute to a holistic approach to carbon management in heritage tourism. The results are available online as an ArcGIS StoryMap titled Climate Footprints of Heritage Tourism.

KEYWORDS:

• Heritage tourism
• carbon footprint
• input-output assessment
• world heritage
• climate change
• climate communication

Acknowledgment

We are grateful for website support from the University of Maryland Department of Anthropology for the project described in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Ellen J. Platts: Methodology, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing – original draft, writing – reviewing and editing, visualization. Holly L. Keifer: Formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing – original draft, writing – reviewing and editing, visualization. Kathryn Lafrenz Samuels: Conceptualization, funding acquisition, supervision, writing – reviewing and editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This project was funded by the University of Maryland Faculty–Student Research Award, the University of Maryland ADVANCE Program for Inclusive Excellence, and the University of Maryland Department of Anthropology. Ellen Platts was supported by NRT-INFEWS: UMD Global STEWARDS (STEM Training at the Nexus of Energy, WAter Reuse and FooD Systems) that was awarded to the University of Maryland School of Public Health by the National Science Foundation National Research Traineeship Program, Grant number 1828910.

Notes on contributors

Ellen J. Platts

Ellen J. Platts is a PhD candidate in Anthropology and a Flagship Fellow at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research interests include how cultural heritage can be applied towards solving global challenges and for working towards sustainable development, including responses to climate change and efforts to strengthen food security.

Holly L. Keifer

Holly L. Keifer works in Boulder, CO in the renewable energy industry while continuing research on carbon footprints of tourism. She recently received a B.S. in Business and Environmentally Sustainable Development from the University of Maryland, studying the cross-section of economics, conservation biology, environmental sustainability, and international development. Her research interests include socio-economic impacts of climate change, carbon life-cycle assessments, and sustainable economic growth. She is an alumna of the 2020-2021 Global Fellows Program: Science Diplomacy, where she researched methods for monitoring social impact of forest restoration at the World Resources Institute.

Kathryn Lafrenz Samuels

Kathryn Lafrenz Samuels is Associate Professor and Director of the Cultural and Heritage Resource Management graduate program in the Department of Anthropology. She also serves as Editor for the journal Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites. She received her PhD in Anthropology from Stanford University. Her current research projects center on the nexus between cultural heritage and climate change, including interests in biodiversity loss as well as the persuasive capacity of heritage to mobilize change in democratic societies.