by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 10:05 AM ET, Wed October 4, 2023
A new, forward-looking report by Intrepid Travel, in partnership with The Future Laboratory, predicts some ways in which climate change is impacting, and will continue to impact, the travel industry, and provides some methods in which we may solve or adapt by 2040.
The report, entitled, “A Sustainable Future for Travel: From Crisis to Transformation,” encourages the industry to act now to ensure its future.
While sustainability is a growing trend within the travel industry, there’s not denying the impact that climate change has had on destinations across the globe — islands and coastal destinations are seeing water levels continue to rise, wildfires and heat waves decimate towns and force tourists to flee, and more unpredictable storms can put destinations like Miami, New Orleans and the Caribbean at an increased risk.
“Low-lying islands, including the Maldives, could become uninhabitable by 2050,” said Elissa Garay, travel editor and sustainable tourism specialist, in the report. “A lot of destinations that we love because of their connections to the sea are at great risk, including Venice and Amsterdam.”
Travel by 2040: Carbon Passports and Cooler Climes
Intrepid predicts that by 2040, less than twenty years in the future, a personal carbon limit will become the norm as climate change worsens and more countries and organizations strengthen efforts to curb it.
They predict that each person would be limited to 2.3 tons of carbon emissions per year, the equivalent of an overseas flight from Rio de Janeiro to Riyadh. Currently, the average carbon footprint in the U.S. is 16 tons per person per year.
The carbon passports would push travelers to use more sustainable travel methods, destinations and accommodations, thus encouraging the industry to quickly adjust itself to offering greater sustainability overall.
Additionally, as heat waves intensify in historically popular summer destinations, such as Greece and Spain, more northern climes that don’t typically see these potentially dangerous heatwaves and the wildfires that accompany them are expected to grow in popularity. Scandinavia and the Baltic are two regions that are expected to capitalize on the change.
Virtual vacations, while poor substitutes for the real thing, may also become ways of preserving currently at-risk destinations. Tuvalu is the first to create a digital version of itself as rising sea levels prompt concern for the country.
Top Trends in Travel in 2040
The research points to a few changes in the industry that we’re seeing begin today that are expected to grow to become focal points in the industry.
These are people-focuses, or regenerative travel; transient travel experiences that leave no trace on the environment; eco-mobility, or zero-emissions travel methods like carbon neutral sleeper trains and cruise ships with wind or solar power; and accurate carbon emissions reporting for each person. Additionally, Intrepid expects AI to become an integrated force in the travel planning process.
“The direct, catastrophic impact of climate change has for too long been viewed as something that’s far off in the future,” said Darrell Wade, co-founder, Intrepid Travel, in the report. “But it’s no longer something that’s going to happen – it’s something that is happening. It’s a short-to-medium existential risk that has arrived faster and harder than we ever expected, and is changing everything.”
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
