The latest groundbreaking data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Global Center for Sustainable Tourism have revealed that Italy’s travel and tourism sector has continued to grow positively, while at the same time reducing the intensity of its emissions.
Such data also show that before the pandemic began, the Italian sector accounted for 8.4 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions, which is below the European average of 10.7 per cent, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
On the other hand, in 2020 this percentage fell to 4.2 per cent due to the decrease in activity in the sector during the pandemic.
According to WTTC figures, between 2010 and 2019, the sector’s total contribution to the national economy grew by an average of 1.1 per cent per year, while greenhouse gas emissions also increased by just 0.2 per cent per year.
The same source said that in 2010 the travel and tourism sector produced 0.37 kilograms of greenhouse gases for every euro generated by the sector in Italy. However, this figure fell by an average of almost one per cent per year until 2019, when the sector was at its peak, to reach 0.34 kilograms per euro generated. Over the following years, the amount was further reduced, reaching 0.27 kilograms per euro in 2021.
“Italy’s Travel & Tourism sector is growing strongly. But it has decoupled its economic growth from its greenhouse gas emissions and continues to reduce its emissions intensity,” WTTC President & CEO Julia Simpson pointed out in this regard.
She also emphasised that the Italian government should show great support in increasing sustainable transport, adding that this means that electric ground vehicles would ensure that Italy has a good supply of sustainable aviation fuel.
The data provided by the global tourism organisation also revealed that between 2010 and 2019, the total energy use of the Italian sector decreased by 0.2 per cent per year.
In addition, between 2010 and 2021, the share of low-carbon energy sources in the national energy mix has also seen a gradual increase, from 6.1 per cent in 2010 to 9.3 per cent in 2021, while the sector’s reliance on fossil fuels as an energy source decreased.
Previously, the WTTC report showed that even in Germany the travel and tourism sector has continued to grow, but the same has reduced its absolute emissions. As the authority explains, in 2019, the sector was responsible for 10.3 per cent of Germany’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
