The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched an ambitious Net Zero Roadmap, to help guide the global tourism sector towards net zero.
It developed the roadmap in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Accenture.
It offers concrete guidelines and recommendations to help guide businesses towards net zero by providing milestones for meaningful climate action and emissions reduction for different industries within the sector.
The roadmap sets out the challenges ahead and how the sector can decarbonise and reach net zero by 2050.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: "I am delighted to announce our pioneering Net Zero Roadmap for tourism. It helps travel industries reach individual targets to reduce our carbon footprint."
"Many destinations are affected by the impacts of climate change with rising sea levels, deforestation and the loss of animal and plant species. Communities that rely on tourism are first in line to see the impact and wan to do something about it."
The detailed roadmap includes key decarbonisation levers and corresponding actions for five key industries: accommodation, tour operators, aviation, cruise, and tourism intermediaries such as online travel agents (OTAs) and metasearch engines.
Acknowledging that different industries face different challenges to decarbonise, the roadmap calls on businesses to increase their ambitions where possible.
It provides detailed recommendations for five areas, including setting baselines and emission targets now, monitor and report progress regularly, collaborate within and across industries and government, and provide finance and investment required.
The collaborative process included key organisations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), IATA, Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), Travalyst, and SHA (Sustainable Hospitality Alliance), among others.
