5. Recommendations and possible follow-up study
5.1 Dutch tourists abroad and tourists from other countries visiting the Netherlands
This study only focused on economic activities associated with tourism in the Netherlands and its associated impact on the environment. No distinction was made between tourists from the Netherlands and tourists from other countries. Also, no distinction was made between business tourism and leisure tourism.. It is unknown whether individual groups of tourists show the same pattern or whether there are differences.
Furthermore, the impact of Dutch tourists abroad is not included in this study. This is important in order to have a complete overview of tourism's impact on the environment.
A feasibility study would show on what data are available to further refine and expand this research.
5.2 Environmental footprint of tourism
The scope of the current study is the tourism sector in the Netherlands and its direct environmental impact. Each economic activity also has an indirect impact on the environment. It would be interesting to determine this so that the environmental footprint of tourism can be depicted. A first step would be a study of the greenhouse gases emitted in the full production chain of the Dutch tourism sector, such as the emissions released (abroad) during the manufacture of an aircraft. In determining the footprint, previous studies conducted by CBS could be used as input11).
5.3 Tourism and well-being
Tourism has an impact that goes beyond the economy and the environment: it also has a socio-cultural impact. In order to take all factors in consideration, the role of tourism in relation to well-being and/or the fulfilling of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has to be taken into account. Questions that can be answered include: Who benefits from tourism and who bears the burden? What aspects of tourism does this apply to, and are there synergies or trade-offs between the various indicators of well-being and/or the SDGs? The SDGs provide a framework to measure sustainable tourism in a consistent way so that the figures are comparable across countries.
5.4 Regional impact of tourism
Tourism in various regions of the country can be different in nature and therefore interact with different economic sectors and involve different environmental aspects. The extent to which a regional breakdown of the data is possible can be analysed in a feasibility study.
5.5 Consumption-related emissions from tourism
This study does not include emissions related to consumption, which are emissions that cannot be traced back to a specific economic activity. However, this angle is covered in the international definition of Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism. For example, direct emissions from the use of cars by tourists are included in the definition. In the case of data that is used for this application, the overall picture of touristic impact on the environment is depicted better.