Emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and growth the tourism industry: case study of Latvia

In terms of Kyoto protocol, the reduction of CO2 emissions of the transport used in tourism is an important goal for Latvia. Based on a top-down and a bottom-up approach, the CO2 emissions of tourism transport and its types were estimated, while analysing the relation between the CO2 emissions from tourism transport and the relevant input of the tourism transport as part of GDP and vice versa. The results concerning the period 2010 till 2017 showed that the CO2 emissions caused by tourism transport rose from 996.8 x 103 kg/km to 1527.3 x 103 kg/km. The aviation transport associated with the increased tourism activity is the main cause for the increase of CO2 emissions in Latvia. The connection between the CO2 emissions from tourism and the contribution of tourism transport to GDP is linear. The trend in increase of CO2 emissions in the tourism industry is similar to that of other industries.