To view the presentation from the Tourism Workshop visit the Tourism Workshop Presentation page.

Background

In Scotland, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a key component of achieving a ‘greener’ Scotland, while tourism has been identified as a core sector in delivering a ‘wealthier’ Scotland. Furthermore, the Scottish Government has publicly stated its ambition for Scotland to be Europe’s most sustainable tourism destination.

Tourism is one of Scotland’s largest business sectors, providing direct employment for 200,000 people and generating visitor spending of more than £4 billion a year. As such, it is an important element in the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of Scotland, from major cities to rural areas, many of which depend on the industry for jobs and infrastructure.

There are a number of existing standards and schemes that are either specific to, or include, the tourism sector. Of these, the Scottish Government’s preferred sustainable tourism scheme is the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS). Membership of the GTBS is, at present, a voluntary decision. However the Scottish Government have stated their aspiration that all quality assured businesses will have attained (at a minimum) entry level of the GTBS by 2015 (Scottish Executive, 2006). The GTBS assessment criterion includes consideration of energy, water efficiency, procurement, waste, and travel (in addition to other cultural, social and biodiversity aspects of sustainability). All of these elements should be included within a carbon footprint assessment that includes significant supply chain emissions in addition to direct and energy indirect emission sources.

Workshop Overview

This is the first workshop in a series of stakeholder events/consultations to explore and reach consensus on common measures to evaluate carbon across the tourism sector. As this is a complex multi-faceted issue, this first workshop will focus on a number of core issues and also provide an opportunity to identify topics for future focus.

This interactive event will feature short scene setting presentations followed by round table discussions of the key questions. We would welcome input prior to the event regarding the key questions (from workshop participants or those unable to attend) – please email your views to r.dunk@carboncentre.org or Steven.Gillespie@glasgow.ac.uk.

Agenda

13:30 Registration, refreshments & networking opportunity
14:00 Welcome & overview of workshop
14:10 Tourism and CO2 – the global context
14:20 A whistle-stop tour of standards and methodologies applicable to the Tourism Sector
14:30 Break out groups – all addressing Key Question 1
Key Question 1: Sector boundaries – who should the tourism rule book cover?
15:00 Report back on Key Question 1
15:15 Break out groups – addressing Key Questions 2-4 (refreshments will be available during this session)
Key Question 2: How should we account for visitor transport in the tourism sector?
Key Question 3: What are the ‘significant’ scope 3 sources in accommodation businesses?
Key Question 4: What are the ‘significant’ scope 3 sources in visitor attraction businesses?
16:00 Report back on Key Questions 2-4
16:20 Wrap up and close

Download the full agenda