ABSTRACT
As the scale of global tourism flows continues to grow and the impacts of climate change become more apparent, issues related to tourism mobilities and the ability of destinations to sustain long-haul markets will become increasingly important. Distance is a particularly important factor because, as the average distance of individual trips grows, there is an increase in the collective environmental impact of annual emissions. The magnitude of anticipated increases in global air travel is demonstrated by a recent report from Boeing that forecasts that the total demand for passenger jet aircraft is likely to grow from 20,000 aircraft in 2010 to 40,000 in 2030 (Boeing, 2013). One issue that is likely to affect the ability of destinations to maintain long-haul tourism flows in the future is the impact of legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emission. Actions of this nature are already occurring with carbon pricing schemes implemented in Australia and the EU (World Bank, 2013). Despite many protests, the UK government has imposed the Air Passenger Duty as a climate change mitigation strategy by increasing the price of air travel and in the process making the UK’s air travel tax one of the highest in the world. The issue of sustainable mobilities will grow in importance as concerns over climate change begin to determine international policy agendas. The implications for tourism are obvious, particularly the long- haul aviation sector that is currently the tourism industry’s major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions (UNWTO—UNEP—WMO, 2008). Any change in demand for long-haul travel due to climate change mitigation policies will have a knock-on effect on short-haul travel and in so doing change the demand patterns for domestic road, rail, air and sea transport. Changing patterns of demand of this nature will create new opportunities for destinations as well as close off existing opportunities.
