Life cycle assessment to address the environmental impacts of tourism in a Spanish tourist destination: The case of Rias Baixas (Galicia) holidays

Cristina Campos; María Gallego; Pedro Villanueva; Jara Laso; Ana Cláudia Dias; Paula Quinteiro; Sara Oliveira; Jaume Albertí; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Lela Mélon; Ilija Sazdovski; Mercè Roca; Ramón Xifré; María Margallo; Rubén Aldaco

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166242

Life cycle assessment to address the environmental impacts of tourism in a Spanish tourist destination: The case of Rias Baixas (Galicia) holidays

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Oct 20:896:166242. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166242. Epub 2023 Aug 16.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Cantabria, Av. de Los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander, Spain; UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change ESCI-UPF, Pg. Pujades 1, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
² EnergyLab, Fonte das Abelleiras, s/n, Campus Universidad de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain.
³ EnergyLab, Fonte das Abelleiras, s/n, Campus Universidad de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain; Galician Water Research Center Foundation (Cetaqua Galicia), AquaHub - A Vila da Auga, Rúa José Villar Granjel 33, 15890 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
⁴ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Cantabria, Av. de Los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander, Spain.
⁵ Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
⁶ Laboratório da Paisagem, Rua da Ponte Romana, 4835-095 Creixomil, Guimarães, Portugal.
⁷ UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change ESCI-UPF, Pg. Pujades 1, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
⁸ UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change ESCI-UPF, Pg. Pujades 1, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; UPF Barcelona School of Management, Barcelona, Spain, Carrer de Balmes, 132-134, 08008 Barcelona, Spain.
⁹ UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change ESCI-UPF, Pg. Pujades 1, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; UPF Barcelona School of Management, Barcelona, Spain, Carrer de Balmes, 132-134, 08008 Barcelona, Spain; PPSRC - IESE Business School, Barcelona, Av. Pearson 21, 08034 Barcelona, (Spain).

PMID: 37595921
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166242

Abstract

Tourism has grown steadily in recent decades, becoming a strategic sector for the economy in many countries. However, the environmental impacts associated with tourism have also experienced an upward trend. In this sense, innovation is needed in the tourism sector, to move towards new models and strategies that integrate environmental sustainability with the social aspects of the sector. In this study, a holistic assessment of the environmental impact of tourism has been carried out using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, considering all stages of tourism activity: transportation from the place of origin to destination and back, accommodation, catering, and activities conducted. For this purpose, a case study has been carried out based on a typical trip made from Madrid to Rías Baixas (Galicia), considering a four-night stay and the performance of two activities (music festival and cultural museum) at the destination. Two alternative transportation scenarios (train or plane) have been defined to analyze the influence of the type of transportation on the overall impact. Other touristic activities such as visiting gardens or thermal baths instead of visiting a cultural museum or attending a music festival have been analyzed and it has been found that the thermal baths and the museum have the greatest environmental impacts. Transportation was the biggest contributor to most of the environmental impacts in the selected categories. On the other hand, the stay at the destination has stood out due to the impact of the consumption of food and energy used at the accommodation facility. The impact of the activities conducted at the destination is also worth highlighting. Finally, alternative scenarios for transportation have shown that the mode of transportation selected is key for lowering the overall environmental impact of the stay at the destination, highlighting the public transportation alternative, such as the train, as the most environmentally friendly option.

Keywords: Carbon footprint; Life cycle assessment (LCA); Sustainability; Tourism.

MeSH terms

Food
Gardening
Holidays*
Humans
Spain
Tourism*