The climate researcher Hans Joachim Schellnhuber sees tourism in the fight against global warming at a crossroads. The challenges for the travel industry are great: "Tourism must become part of climate-neutral mobility, if possible even pioneers", said Schellnhuber, who headed the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) from 1991 to 2018.
The crucial question is: "Do we want to carry on as before?", He told the news agency Reuters at the tourism summit in Berlin. Travel contributes to global warming - for example, by flying, cruise shipping or even individual car traffic. One solution is to limit the onrush to completely overrun travel destinations, including through price increases. "The cheap mass tourism, as we know it today, will have no future in this form."
The researcher sees the industry as under pressure and calls for more commitment to climate protection. "Otherwise you'll be sawing the branch you're sitting on. If you destroy coral reefs, then you can not send anyone there," he said.
- The tourism industry must begin "aggressively" to get away from fossil fuels.
- Popular destinations like Venice, Amsterdam and Honolulu are completely overcrowded. In order to counteract, one must think about limitations, price increases and taxes. "A precious commodity must have its price."
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Tips: How to make you feel greenerAccording to Schellnhuber, the tourism industry is booming locally as well as globally and causes great damage. This is the inner contradiction of tourism: "You destroy what you love." There are "three big paradoxes" for the travel industry:
- On the one hand, climate change will increase the migration movement . However, it was open: "How do the rich countries react?" It could be that industrialized countries foreclose and strengthen their borders, said Schellnhuber. The movement from poor to rich would then be limited. The exchange from rich to poor is likely to continue because of tourism.
- In spite of growing traffic and rising demand, the industry must also adjust to a shrinking supply - for example, fewer beaches due to climate change.
- Finally, Schellnhuber sees "tendencies towards exclusive tourism , whereas society, by contrast, insists on inclusion - ie equal participation." Important are long-term business models instead of short-term profit. At its core, it is about a crucial question: "Can sustainable tourism become mass-marketable?" For the German market only about one percent of the offers are sustainable, said the physicist. "Sustainability is luxury, and luxury is exclusive."
Travel as an achievement of our time
The president of the tourism association, Michael Frenzel, however, considers it absolutely wrong to make travel again a luxury for the elite. The democratization of travel is one of the greatest achievements of recent decades, he said at the tourism summit.
Instead of "renouncing, prohibiting and increasing prices", politics, business and society should focus on research and innovation. "CO2-saving and ultimately CO2-neutral products must be developed." Tourism also stabilizes many regions worldwide - the industry is the main source of income and main employer in many countries. Every tenth job worldwide depends on tourism.
At the same time, Frenzel emphasized the industry's willingness to become involved in climate protection. Aviation and cruise are the "Achilles heels of tourism", but there "playing a role in finding and finding sustainable solutions" already plays a big role. According to the Federal Environment Agency, flies are the most climate-damaging way to travel. Cruises therefore cause disproportionately high carbon dioxide emissions.
On Monday, the 22nd Tourism Summit of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW) takes place in Berlin - including topics such as the global climate and travel, the future of the package holiday, home leave.
