Welcome back fellow readers to our concluding post on tourism and pollution! Our final stop for this week’s journey would be to explore COVID-19’s impact on the tourism industry and environmental pollution. So buckle up and let’s go!

Back To Earth

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO, 2019), transport-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from tourism are predicted to increase by a whopping 25%,  from 1,597 million tonnes to 1,998 million tonnes between 2016 and 2030. Apart from carbon emissions, the popularity of coastal resorts has negatively impacted water quality along coastlines. For one, partially treated wastewater released from septic tanks and other hotel on-site sewage systems alongside untreated effluent have contributed to eutrophication and phytoplankton blooms, affecting marine life such as corals (Wells et al, 2016).

In a pre-COVID world, the UNWTO (2019) predicted that from 2016 and 2030, international and domestic arrivals were projected to increase from 20 billion to 37 billion. So what about now? I don’t know about you but I have a hunch that these numbers might fall within the next few years given our current predicament. Such sentiments are also widely shared in the academic world, as Becker (2020) noted:

“In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, few industries have fallen as far and as fast as tourism. The technological revolution that brought us closer together by making travel and tourism easy and affordable—a revolution that fueled one billion trips a year—is helpless in halting a virus that demands we shelter in place.”

A Blessing In Disguise

By impaired swaths of the tourism industry, COVID-19 has exposed the pressing issue of the industry’s persistently pollutive nature. Commercial flights have plummeted as travel restrictions were enacted by countries in response to the pandemic, clearing up the skies. As seen from the images below, air travel has significantly reduced when compared to that of the previous year. The decrease in the number of flights thus reduces the emissions and impacts of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and other greenhouse gases that we have elaborated on in our earlier post this week.

Stormy Seas

Apart from the airlines, cruise companies are also facing massive losses due to their image as vessels carrying infected passengers and those who were quarantined. In February, Carnival-owned Princess Cruises announced that 3,700 passengers and crew had to be put on a 14-day mandatory quarantine after ten passengers aboard a cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan tested positive for COVID-19. Similar incidents were soon recorded in other Carnival-owned cruise ships, resulting in dozens of fatalities and over 1,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases. All in all, the cruise industry has suffered due to its tarnished reputation and the travel bans enacted by countries, which has restricted foreign flagged vessels from docking overseas.

Then again, the crippling of the cruise industry brings about benefits to the environment and its inhabitants. Did you know that a 3000-person cruise ship generates more than 210,000 gallons of waste weekly (Schulkin, 2002)? Such waste is usually contained in septic tanks to separate the solid and liquid waste – the former is incinerated and the latter is treated and then released into the ocean waters. That is, if the cruise ships adhere to such protocols.

In May 2001, the Norwegian Sky discharged sewage containing 3500 times more fecal coliform and 180 times more suspended solids than allowed under US federal law into the Alaskan Waters (Schulkin, 2002). Moreover, chemicals generated from the dry cleaners, photograph processing laboratories, and hair salons onboard the cruise ships are often dumped overboard instead of being contained and offloaded on land (Schulkin, 2002). These chemicals often contain heavy metals which can bioaccumulate in the tissues of the marine animals (and even us!) through the food chain. The plethora of travel restrictions faced by the cruise industry today thus puts a halt on these pollutive practices, reducing the impact on our open waters. 

On top of reducing pollution, the immobilisation of the tourism industry is perhaps the catalyst for the industry to analyse its pollutive operations. Instead of continuing with the haphazard conventional travel that is characterised by overtourism, it is bestowed with the opportunity to reposition itself as an ally in promoting sustainable and mindful travel (Nepal, 2020).

Let Me Out!

However, as countries ramp up their economic activities – perhaps to make up for lost time and opportunities – tourism and thus pollution might revert to their pre-COVID state if sustainable operation methods are not adopted.

As a matter of fact, tourism in some ways has already resumed in certain countries, as demonstrated by the introduction of ‘flights to nowhere’ (Chung, 2020). Evergreen Airlines, otherwise known as EVA Air, is a Taiwanese international airline which offers flights within and across countries, but there is a catch – the flights will take off and land at the same airport in a single trip, so don’t expect to land and sightsee! 

Watch the video below to see how the flights are conducted! Would you go for such trips?

Our desire for travel might be innate in us and reflects our longing for normalcy, but as we all know, a new normal is here to stay. As individuals, we should also take conscious steps to reduce our impact on the environment, and here’s just a few of our tips!

We hope that you have learnt a thing or two about the various pollutive aspects of tourism and as travel restrictions are gradually lifted, let’s all bring out the conscious travellers in us as we embrace travel in the new normal!

See you next week as we explore the world of anti-fouling paint 😉

 

References:

Becker, E. (2020). How hard will the coronavirus hit the travel industry? Available at:https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/2020/04/how-coronavirus-is-impacting-the-travel-industry/ [Accessed 23 August 2020]

Business Insider. (2020). Coronavirus demolished air travel around the globe. These 14 charts show how empty the skies are right now. Available from: https://www.businessinsider.com/air-traffic-during-coronavirus-pandemic-changes-effects-around-the-world-2020-4 [Accessed 23 August 2020]

Chung, L. (2020). Taiwanese airlines offer fun flights to Japan, but don’t expect to land! Available from: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3095637/taiwanese-airlines-offer-fun-flights-japan-dont-expect-land [Accessed 23 August 2020]

Nepal, S. K. (2020). Adventure travel and tourism after COVID-19 – business as usual or opportunity to reset? Tourism Geographies. 22(3), 646-650. Available from: https://doi-org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/10.1080/14616688.2020.1760926 [Accessed 23 August 2020]

Schulkin, A. (2002). Safe harbors: Crafting an international solution to cruise ship pollution. Georgetown International Environmental Law Review. 15(1), 105-132. Available from: https://search-proquest-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/docview/225519597?pq-origsite=summon [Accessed 23 August 2020]

Wells, E. C., Zarger, R. K., Whiteford, L. M., Mihelcic, J. R., Koenig, E. S, & Cairns, M. R. (2016). The impacts of tourism development on perceptions and practices of sustainable wastewater management on the Placencia Peninsula, Belize. Journal of Cleaner Production. 111 (B), 430-441. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.08.050 [Accessed 23 August 2020]

United Nations World Tourism Organisation. (2019). Tourism’s Carbon Emissions Measured In Landmark Report Launched At Cop25. Available from: https://www.unwto.org/news/tourisms-carbon-emissions-measured-in-landmark-report-launched-at-cop25 [Accessed 23 August 2020]

 

Images:

The Guardian. (2020). How is the coronavirus affecting global air traffic? Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2020/apr/03/how-is-the-coronavirus-affecting-global-air-traffic [Accessed 23 August 2020]

The Guardian. (2020). Inside the cruise ship that became a coronavirus breeding ground. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/mar/06/inside-the-cruise-ship-that-became-a-coronavirus-breeding-ground-diamond-princess [Accessed 23 August 2020]