Awareness of Tourism Impacts on Climate Change and the Implications for Travel Practice

Abstract

Air travel is forecast to grow globally at around 5% per annum over 30 years, in direct conflict with targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 60% and 80% by 2050. Many authors identify individual behavioral change, with consumers choosing fewer flights, as a contributor to reducing growth. An increasing number of studies examine knowledge about climate change and how this influences decisions to take holidays by air, although these have focused on tourists from developed countries where aviation growth is slowing, whereas future high growth will come from emerging economies. This article explores attitudes to flying from one emerging economy, Poland. A survey of Polish nationals conducted in Cracow in 2010 revealed concern over climate change although knowledge of its causes was poor. Analysis, using a social representations perspective, showed significant societal structures embed air travel as the norm and identified both internal and external barriers to behavioral change.

Climate Change, Discretionary Air Travel, and the “Flyers’ Dilemma”

“…While studies in this field have hitherto been national in focus (Ryley and Davison, 2008;Randles and Mander, 2009a;Hares, Dickinson, and Wilkes 2010;Higham and Cohen, 2011;Dickinson, Robbins, Filimonau, Hares and Mika 2013), here we document a critical analysis of consumer attitudes towards anthropogenic climate change and frequent tourist air travel in sections of three different European societies; Norway, the United Kingdom and Germany. We present empirical material that explores consumer awareness of and attitudes towards climate change, and personal behavioral responses to the 'flyers' dilemma'.…”

‘Nudging’ as an architect of more responsible consumer choice in food service provision: The role of restaurant menu design

“…First, there is a broad consensus in literature that TTL customers are reluctant to voluntarily change their behaviour so that it becomes more benign towards the environment and society (Lehner et al 2016;Mont et al 2014). There are a range of factors that contribute to this negative behavioural pattern which comprise: lack of personal knowledge on the inter-linkages between individual consumer choices and environmental pressures; low levels of environmental awareness among the public; and general customer unwillingness to replace comfortable, largely unsustainable, leisure routines with more environmentally-responsible lifestyles (see, for instance, Cohen and Higham 2011; Dickinson et al 2013;Gössling et al 2012). This suggests that other TTL stakeholders should take a more active part in facilitating positive behavioural changes among consumers.…”

Australian climate concern and the ‘attitude–behaviour gap’

“…Despite Australians having among the highest per capita emissions in the world, research on public perceptions towards the climate impacts of air travel has centred mostly on Europe (e.g. Dickinson et al 2013 on Poland; Kroesen 2013 on the Netherlands, Hares et al 2010, Barr et al 2010, Miller et al 2010 (Dillimono & Dickinson, 2014) or Australia (Bergen-Seers & Mair, 2009;Mair, 2011). In order to address this context, we set out to provide empirically-informed insights into the attitudes and behaviours of the Australian public with regards to both domestic (daily/routine) and tourist (non-routine) consumer decision making, with a particular focus on air travel.…”