Tool for greener tourism: evaluating environmental impacts

Travel and tourism are essential to global economies, generating social, economic, and environmental impacts. However, there is a lack of standardized methodologies to assess the environmental footprint of tourist destinations beyond carbon footprint analysis. This study introduces the Greentour too...

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Autores: Campos Herrero, Cristina, Albertí, Jaume, Bala, Alba, Fullana-i-Palmer, Pere, Melón, Lela, Sazdovski, Ilija, Roca, Mercè, Xifré Oliva, Ramon
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/71140
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/71140
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su17083476
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Life cycle assessment (LCA)
Environmental impacts
Environmental footprint
Tourist destinations
Sustainable tourism
Environmental tool
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spelling Tool for greener tourism: evaluating environmental impactsCampos Herrero, CristinaAlbertí, JaumeBala, AlbaFullana-i-Palmer, PereMelón, LelaSazdovski, IlijaRoca, MercèXifré Oliva, RamonLife cycle assessment (LCA)Environmental impactsEnvironmental footprintTourist destinationsSustainable tourismEnvironmental toolTravel and tourism are essential to global economies, generating social, economic, and environmental impacts. However, there is a lack of standardized methodologies to assess the environmental footprint of tourist destinations beyond carbon footprint analysis. This study introduces the Greentour tool, the first of its kind to evaluate the environmental impact of accommodation, restaurants, and tourism activities using nine environmental indicators from a life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective. The tool applies a hybrid bottom-up and top-down approach, integrating data from tourist establishments and destination managers. The tool was tested in four tourist destinations in Spain and Portugal (Rías Baixas, Camino Lebaniego, Lloret de Mar, and Guimarães), revealing that transportation is the primary contributor to environmental impacts, ranging from 60% to 96% of total emissions, particularly in air-travel-dependent destinations. Food and beverage services are the second-largest contributor, accounting for up to 26% of emissions, while accommodation ranks third (1–14%). This study highlights the significant role of electricity consumption and food choices (e.g., red meat and dairy) in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, emphasizing the need for sustainable alternatives. Despite challenges in data collection, particularly for food and transport statistics, the Greentour tool has demonstrated robustness and adaptability across diverse destinations, making it applicable worldwide. This tool provides key insights for policymakers, tourism stakeholders, and businesses, supporting the integration of sustainability strategies into public policies and industry best practices. Future research should focus on expanding its use to additional destinations to foster science-based decision-making and promote more sustainable tourism practices globally.MDPI202520252025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10230/71140http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su17083476reponame:Repositorio Digital de la UPFinstname:Universitat Pompeu FabraInglésSustainability. 2025 Apr 14;17(8):3476© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/711402026-06-12T07:21:37Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Tool for greener tourism: evaluating environmental impacts
title Tool for greener tourism: evaluating environmental impacts
spellingShingle Tool for greener tourism: evaluating environmental impacts
Campos Herrero, Cristina
Life cycle assessment (LCA)
Environmental impacts
Environmental footprint
Tourist destinations
Sustainable tourism
Environmental tool
title_short Tool for greener tourism: evaluating environmental impacts
title_full Tool for greener tourism: evaluating environmental impacts
title_fullStr Tool for greener tourism: evaluating environmental impacts
title_full_unstemmed Tool for greener tourism: evaluating environmental impacts
title_sort Tool for greener tourism: evaluating environmental impacts
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Campos Herrero, Cristina
Albertí, Jaume
Bala, Alba
Fullana-i-Palmer, Pere
Melón, Lela
Sazdovski, Ilija
Roca, Mercè
Xifré Oliva, Ramon
author Campos Herrero, Cristina
author_facet Campos Herrero, Cristina
Albertí, Jaume
Bala, Alba
Fullana-i-Palmer, Pere
Melón, Lela
Sazdovski, Ilija
Roca, Mercè
Xifré Oliva, Ramon
author_role author
author2 Albertí, Jaume
Bala, Alba
Fullana-i-Palmer, Pere
Melón, Lela
Sazdovski, Ilija
Roca, Mercè
Xifré Oliva, Ramon
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Life cycle assessment (LCA)
Environmental impacts
Environmental footprint
Tourist destinations
Sustainable tourism
Environmental tool
topic Life cycle assessment (LCA)
Environmental impacts
Environmental footprint
Tourist destinations
Sustainable tourism
Environmental tool
description Travel and tourism are essential to global economies, generating social, economic, and environmental impacts. However, there is a lack of standardized methodologies to assess the environmental footprint of tourist destinations beyond carbon footprint analysis. This study introduces the Greentour tool, the first of its kind to evaluate the environmental impact of accommodation, restaurants, and tourism activities using nine environmental indicators from a life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective. The tool applies a hybrid bottom-up and top-down approach, integrating data from tourist establishments and destination managers. The tool was tested in four tourist destinations in Spain and Portugal (Rías Baixas, Camino Lebaniego, Lloret de Mar, and Guimarães), revealing that transportation is the primary contributor to environmental impacts, ranging from 60% to 96% of total emissions, particularly in air-travel-dependent destinations. Food and beverage services are the second-largest contributor, accounting for up to 26% of emissions, while accommodation ranks third (1–14%). This study highlights the significant role of electricity consumption and food choices (e.g., red meat and dairy) in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, emphasizing the need for sustainable alternatives. Despite challenges in data collection, particularly for food and transport statistics, the Greentour tool has demonstrated robustness and adaptability across diverse destinations, making it applicable worldwide. This tool provides key insights for policymakers, tourism stakeholders, and businesses, supporting the integration of sustainability strategies into public policies and industry best practices. Future research should focus on expanding its use to additional destinations to foster science-based decision-making and promote more sustainable tourism practices globally.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025
2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10230/71140
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su17083476
url http://hdl.handle.net/10230/71140
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su17083476
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Sustainability. 2025 Apr 14;17(8):3476
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
instname:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
instname_str Universitat Pompeu Fabra
reponame_str Repositorio Digital de la UPF
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