Renewable Energy in Tourism

Organizations in the tourism sector have a big duty related to climate change. When making investments in the tourism industry, the environmental, social, and economic factors should all be taken into consideration to the greatest extent possible. Furthermore, the demand for eco-friendly renewable energy sources and creative initiatives that will boost current power producing capacity is always rising.

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It will be important for the global economic system to implement energy-saving measures and increase its reliance on renewable energy sources in order to address the worldwide challenge of climate change. However, the early human efforts to slow climate change and boost energy efficiency also present creative chances to explore new tourist niches.

The tourism sector, which by definition depends on transportation and on resources and energy in many other ways, is severely affected by this dilemma. Tourism can easily become enmeshed in a vicious cycle due to the need to adjust to climate change, for as by increasing the amount of artificial snowmaking, or the “health tourism-boom” is one example of how new product development increases energy consumption, which furthers climate change.

A more sustainable economic structure based on renewable energies will be implemented in the next decades. The recent rising political unpredictability on a global scale, War in Ukraine, as well as greater energy and natural resource prices have pushed modern societies to move toward energy independence. Additionally, conversations about climate change puts pressure on consumer businesses, particularly if they use a lot of energy, as their customers become more critical of excessive energy consumption, of which tourism is the major industry.

Traditional fossil fuel emissions have also had a negative impact on the environment, contributing to global warming and subsequent climate change. These pollutants from diesel generators and cars are especially existing plenty in the tourist facilities. A resort hotel for example, has to have Aircon systems in every room with maximum capacity.

Tourism is both a contributor to and a victim of global warming, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Scientific studies support this by pointing out that around 8% of the world’s CO2 emissions are due to tourism and its numerous components (tourist locations, transportation, lodging, travel agents, and related services). Therefore, by embracing sustainable tourism, action must be taken to protect the environment and resources upon which tourism depends.

There is a growing desire to adopt green energy solutions as well as a global trend with passengers being more interested in green practices in order to promote sustainable tourism. Green practices, which refer to choices and lifestyles that are environmentally beneficial, have consequently gained in importance. As a result, there is now pressure on hotels that cater to tourists to accept accountability for their role in contributing to global warming and the deteriorating health of the environment.

Adoption of green energy is necessary for a green economy. Renewable or green energy is produced from resources that can be utilized repeatedly without running out. Among these are wind, hydro, solar, biomass, and tidal power. Within a tourism site, green energy can be captured and used for a variety of purposes, including lighting, cooking, Aircon for visitors, etc.

Kenya Ecotourism Example

Eg.: The Gold Eco-rated Olarro Lodge is one illustration. Solar energy is mostly used to power the lodge. A total of 150 solar panels fixed with power inverter systems have been purchased by the institution. This energy is captured, saved, and used to meet the demands for electricity, water heating, and pool upkeep. Additionally, the lodge has built 26 solar water heating systems, each having a 300-liter capacity.

Take advantage of energy-efficient stoves in hotels to prepare meals for visitors.Recycling is the use of energy that would typically be wasted and converted into electrical or thermal energy.Recycling is the process by which non-recyclable solid waste is converted into energy. This requires the use of biomass-based energy alternatives such as briquettes created from waste materials such as coffee grounds, sawdust and used paper and cardboard.

Turning off electrical devices when not in use,Switching to Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs in place of old ones to save energy,Utilizing an effective clothes washer in the laundry and setting laundry machines to their ideal weight to save waste,Energy awareness. The management and staff should be well-kowledgable in the benefits and drawbacks of energy management.Facility monitoring to measure energy demand & consumption levels and to monitor environmental effects over time.

Bulgarian Government Support for Tourism Renewable Energy

The Bulgarian government announced that businesses in the tourism industry will be able to apply by the end of the year for funding for working capital, energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy sources, and energy storage systems. For funding for renewable energy and batteries, 102 million euros are set aside. Several public requests for help for digitization, energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy storage systems, and working capital are available to companies in the sector, which is included indirectly in the mechanism.

By year’s end, businesses in the tourism sector will be able to submit applications for the next call for storage and self-consumption renewable energy systems. The budget is 102 million euros. Additionally, the industry is entitled to guarantee instruments for growth, energy efficiency, and renewable energy worth nearly EUR 150 million.

The Island Crete

The development of Crete’s tourism industry and renewable energy systems has a good effect on the expansion of the local economy. Numerous renewable energy technologies are currently mature, dependable, and economical, and they may be used in a variety of applications without any financial assistance.

Energy systems placed in hotels and other existing renewable energy facilities that generate heat and electricity in Crete have been looked at. The most popular safe energy source in Cretan hotels is solar energy.

It has been suggested that the local tourism business might benefit from the development of energy tourism as a brand-new alternative choice. Numerous economic, social, and environmental advantages stem from the interaction between the island of Crete’s tourism economy and renewable energy sources.

Renewables in Tourism — define criteria?

It is acknowledged as the world’s largest export industry, bringing in $1.7 trillion in export revenue. One in ten jobs globally are now related to the tourism industry, which has a significant impact on job creation.

However, because of how much its economic contribution affects environmental quality, particularly in the areas of transportation, energy, and carbon-intensive goods, tourism is an important contributor to climate change. Tourism activities, such as fuel burning in airplanes, trains, cruise ships, cars or goods purchased by tourists, all have a direct impact on the carbon footprint of the industry. As per the estimates, Travel and Tourism accounted for 8 % of all carbon emissions

Transportation-related emissions from tourism accounted for 5% of all produced emissions in 2016 and will increase to 5.3 percent by 2030, according to UNWTO (2020). Transportation-related emissions from tourism made up 22% of total transportation emissions in 2016 and will do so again in 2030. (21 %). As a result, the need to scale up climate action in tourism remains critical.

Tourism stakeholders strongly agree that the sector’s future resilience will be outlined by its talent to adopt a low-carbon route and cut emissions by half by 2030. Thus, it is important to consider how the tourism industry is developing as well as how the economy is doing as well as how much energy is being consumed.

Therefore, estimating the carbon footprint of the tourism industry is not only difficult, but also methodologically difficult. In order to encourage sustainable tourist practices in line with the Paris Agreement’s aims for climate change mitigation, it is necessary to evaluate the long-term relationship between tourism development and other macroeconomic elements, particularly carbon emissions.

A legislative framework focusing on the tourism industry as well as other industries that are intimately related to tourism, such as transportation, has led to the realization of sustainable local tourist development. It appears that the energy component is essential in this regard.

The execution of the objective of sustainable tourism development at a local/regional level requires the adoption of a policy framework promoting the use of clean energy technology, both in energy generation / saving and the tourist-related transportation.

The contribution of renewable energy sources and the wise use of energy are evaluated at both the micro level; tourist businesses, and the macro level ; tourism-related transport in order to produce sustainable energy solutions for tourist development and transportation.

Sample Hotel Carbon Measuring (by UNWTO)

With some assumptions on the size of the hotel, specific yearly energy consumption, and low carbon emission factors, the reduction in carbon emissions brought on by the implementation of the solutions has been generally estimated from the data on energy savings.

Hypothesis on the size and overall energy usage of the hotel;It has been assumed that a hotel with a 1,000 m2 surface area will use 250 kWh/m2 of energy annually. This energy usage is typical of modest hotels in Europe with 50 or less rooms. By converting the annual energy costs (in euros) into his annual energy consumption (in kWh) and contrasting this with the reference example (250,000 kWh/year), the hotelier can compare his results to this reference case.Hypothesis on energy consumption by end-use ;A typical breakdown of energy consumption by end-use has been assumed

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• Adoption of green energy in tourism accommodation facilities, (2017), ecotourismkenya.org
• World Energy Storage Exhibition & Forum 2023
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