Finding harmony with nature in the pearlescent waters of Oku-Matsushima’s oyster farms. Tucking into dishes made with unique alpine vegetables in the sacred hills of Dewa Sanzan. Forest bathing, imbibing in local sake and relaxing in wood-fired saunas nestled in Okutama’s lush mountains.
This is just a sampling of recent promotions for ecotourism destinations in Japan as destinations jostle to grab the attention of an annual influx of 40 million foreign visitors. These destinations promise to immerse visitors in an “authentic” Japanese experience, all the while delivering sustainable experiences that minimize carbon emissions and environmental impacts. But tourism is inherently a carbon-intensive activity.
One U.S. dollar earned in tourism generates 1.02 kilograms of GHG emissions. Tourism’s footprint is four times higher than the service sector’s per-dollar emissions and 30% higher than the global economy’s average of $0.77 per kilogram of GHGs. In a 2020 paper that was released just as the tourism sector was beginning to shut down due to COVID-19, researchers with Tokyo City University estimated that Japan’s annual carbon emissions from the industry had reached 136 million tons per year.
Meanwhile, Japan’s total emissions in 2019, the year before the study was released, totaled 1.1 billion, according to Our World in Data, highlighting the large carbon footprint of the sector. Since Japan reopened its borders to tourists, the nation’s tourism boom has only accelerated. Essentially, every year that brings more tourists accelerates greenhouse gas emissions and puts new strains on ecosystems, threatening to keep Japan off track from its 2050 goal of carbon neutrality.
To curtail emissions, a mix of government frameworks and entrepreneurial initiatives are underway, but with the current speed of tourism development, keeping up is proving to be a major challenge. Temsegen Assefa, chief consultant at JTB Tourism Research & Consulting, says that Japan’s geography poses a particular challenge, given nearly all foreign tourists arrive by air. Every nonstop roundtrip flight from London or Chicago to Tokyo adds over 3,000 kg of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere per passenger in economy class, equivalent to 40% of the annual energy-related emissions of an average American home, according to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. Yusuke Kitamura, a researcher at Waseda University, calculates that over 50% of the emissions of Japan’s tourism industry come from transportation — and reducing those emissions presents a “significant challenge.” Instead, Kitamura says local destinations should start where they can: on the ground. In 2020, Assefa and JTB Tourism Research & Consulting worked on a project in support of the Japan Tourism Agency to develop the Japan Sustainable Tourism Standard for Destinations, also known as JSTS-D.
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