Environmental impact of the tourism sector

1.1 Background, purpose and reading guide 

The Ministry of Economic Affairs has asked Statistics Netherlands (CBS) to monitor the economic evolution of the tourism sector in relation to its impact on the environment. CBS already conducted research in this area in 2016¹⁾, and will now update the results for the next reporting period from 2015-2022. 

After a brief introduction on the tourism and environment accounts, the section on methods (chapter 1) used goes into more detail on how the results were calculated. The section on results (chapter 3) presents and describes the indicators related to economic growth and environmental impact of the tourism sector. The report concludes with the conclusions (chapter 4) and recommendations for follow-up research into the impact of this sector on the environment (chapter 5). 

1.2 Tourism accounts 

CBS's Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) calculations are based on the 2008 definition of tourism from the Statistical Framework Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended Methodological Framework 2008²⁾. The concept of tourism within the TSA comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment. This may be for leisure, business or other activities that are not related to any activity which is paid for at the travel destination. A time criterion is used to define ‘outside the regular environment’: an activity, including travel, that lasts for more than two hours, but less than a year.

The key indicators of the TSA are spending on tourism, value added and tourism employment. Spending on tourism can be defined as ‘total spending by tourists or for the benefit of tourists before, during and after the trip, including their stay at the travel destination’. Spending is therefore classified as spending on tourism when the person who is spending is a tourist, or if the expense is for the benefit of a tourist. A distinction is made between spending on tourism at Dutch businesses and those outside the Dutch economic territory. This is broken down by spending by residents of the Netherlands³⁾, spending by visitors from other countries and other spending. 

1.3 Environmental accounts 

The environmental accounts, like the tourism accounts, are aligned with the national accounts. The environmental accounts link environmental statistics to economic data according to international standards laid down in the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA)⁴⁾. This allows for a consistent and transparent analysis of the relationship between the environment and the economy. 

The environmental accounts comprise both physical and monetary data⁵⁾, including the emissions account and the material flow account. The former monitors the emissions of pollutants into the air, water and soil by the various economic sectors. The latter, and the material flow monitor⁶⁾⁷⁾ in particular, provides figures on the physical flows (in kg) of natural resources, products and residues in the economy. 

The environmental accounts provide an insight into how economic activities, such as those in the tourism sector, affect the environment and vice versa. This makes the accounts an essential tool for policy makers and researchers in developing sustainability strategies and evaluating environmental policies. 

1.4 Environmental impact of tourism 

In order to determine the environmental impact of the tourism sector, the data on the sector’s economic importance from the tourism accounts are calculated and combined with the environmental impact data from the environmental accounts. This approach is in line with the guidelines of the MST (Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism)⁸⁾. The MST is an internationally agreed upon framework that describes key concepts, definitions and data organisation structures that facilitate the production and organisation of data on the impact and dependencies of tourism on the economy, society and the environment. The MST guidelines allow for economic growth in the tourism sector to be monitored in relation to the sector's environmental performance. These guidelines were adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) in March 2024, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs endorses the importance of adhering to this international framework. 

2.1 Composition of  Tourism Satellite Account

The tourism accounts use a ‘demand-side’ approach, meaning that the guiding principle is expenditure. Once every five years, the expenditure in the national accounts is classified as tourist or non-tourist spending (recalibration most recently carried out for 2021). This is done using both internal and external sources that provide detailed information on the total spending of tourists during their holidays. This is counted as spending on tourism, which is allocated to a sector in the national accounts and classified as goods spending or services spending. In some cases, the secondary production of one sector is allocated to another sector (see the example in the next paragraph). For all sectors, the amount of added value generated per unit of production is known (production here is equal to expenditure). A similar ratio is used for employment. This way, the share of value added and employment from tourism can be determined for each sector.

An example of assigning secondary production from one sector to another Is an agricultural business that offers overnight ‘bed and breakfast’ accommodation as a secondary business activity. The tourism accounts also include tourist spending on this type of accommodation (in addition to spending on overnight stays at hotels and holiday parks), which is allocated to the accommodation sector. This allocation allows for a more accurate calculation of value added and employment in tourism (using the shares mentioned above).

The tourism accounts are calculated differently in the years without recalibration. To be precise the levels of expenditure from the previous year are extrapolated. For this purpose, the growth rates in various goods and services from the national accounts are mainly used.

2.2 Determining the environmental impact of the tourism sector

2.2.1 Types of environmental impact

The figures on environmental impact are available for each sector in the environmental accounts. A brief definition and description for each environmental impact is given below. More information about this is presented in the attached set of tables.

Waste generation

The production of waste with a commercial value (waste products) as well as waste with no commercial value (waste residues) for the producer.

Use of biomass

Use of products made from biomass as a major component.

Greenhouse gas emissions

The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄). Greenhouse gases are converted to CO₂equivalents and added up.

Particulate matter emissions.

Particles with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 micrometres (10 PM).

Use of metals

Use of products that consist mainly of metal. These may be raw materials (such as iron ore), semi-manufactured goods (such as sheet metal) or final products (cars).

Environmental taxes and fees

Government revenues paid through taxes and fees that are intended to support and/or finance environmental policies.

Use of minerals

Use of products that consist mainly of non-metallic minerals.

Net energy consumption

Energy consumed through economic activity.

Water consumption

Consumption of drinking water by businesses.

2.2.2 Share by economic sector

As discussed in paragraph 2.1, the share of production in a sector that is related to tourism is determined for each business sector. This is how the ‘share of tourism’ within a given business sector is determined.

The environmental accounts provide information on the size of the various types of environmental impact for each sector. However, the results are not always compiled at the same level of measurement as the share of tourism. For this reason, sectors are combined in order to categorise them in the same way as the share of tourism. It is also possible to combine sectors to arrive at groups of sectors that correspond to the classification used in the environmental accounts. The data used in the tourism and environmental accounts is always combined at the highest level of detail possible.

For each business sector, the share of tourism is multiplied by its environmental impact (e.g. use of minerals). The total environmental impact of the tourist sector is determined by adding up the figures for all sectors.

2.2.3 Share in the total economy

The environmental impact of the tourism sector is also compared to business activities in the Netherlands as a whole. For example, for each variable it is calculated whether the impact of the tourism sector on the environment is above average or below average.

For most indicators, the environmental impact of all economic sectors for the Netherlands is considered. This is not possible for the figures on use of materials (use of biomass, metals and minerals) and so the calculation for use of materials uses the figures for the Dutch economy as a whole, including household consumption. This is done to avoid double-counting when material use for all sectors is tallied, because the production of one sector can serve as input for another sector. This method is expected to provide the most accurate picture of the use of materials. It also means that the method used in the previous study is no longer applicable (see also paragraph 3.3).

Detailed results are shown in the attached table set. This section highlights the key findings.

3.1 Environmental impact of the tourism sector 

Figure 3.1 presents the impact of the tourism sector on the environment and its contribution to the Dutch economy. The contribution of the sector is different for each variable. Between 2015 and 2022, the tourism sector contributed an average of 4 percent to the value added of the Dutch economy. Its largest environmental impact was the consumption of drinking water, at an average of 9 percent, while the use of minerals was lowest. The tourism sector contributed 7 percent in environmental taxes and levies.

The ratio of the tourism sector's contribution to the economy on the one hand, and the environment on the other, provides an insight into how environmentally intensive the tourism sector is compared to the rest of the economy. In terms of drinking water consumption, biomass usage, greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, the tourism sector is relatively environmentally intensive. When it comes to the use of minerals, metals, waste generation and particulate matter emissions, on the other hand, the tourism sector can be characterised as less environmentally intensive than average. 

Within the tourism sector, aviation and accommodation and food services have a high impact on the environment. For example, the use of water and biomass is largely concentrated in the latter sector. Greenhouse gas emissions, on the other hand, are mainly emitted by the aviation sector, which also consumes large amounts of energy. Environmental taxes are paid largely by the accommodation and food services sector. 

Figure 3.2 shows the environmental impact of the tourism sector and its contribution to the Dutch economy. This rose steadily until 2019. In 2022, after the dip caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the share of tourism in the economy as a whole was almost back to its average 4%. The figures for 2020 and 2021 contain a greater degree of uncertainty, which is further explained in the next paragraph. 

3.2 Robustness analysis method 

In this report, the share of production by each sector is used to determine the tourism sector’s share in the total. The share of a given sector can also be calculated on the basis of its level of employment. This provides an opportunity to verify the results obtained using the first method and ensure the robustness of the study. The use of these employment-based shares generally produces very similar results. Using this approach, the share of tourism for many sectors remains virtually unchanged. However, differences are seen in the employment agencies sector. This sector has high levels of employment, but other sectors have higher production levels (including sectors related to tourism). Because the focus of this study is on the environmental impact associated with the production of products and services for tourism, it is better to use the production-based approach.

The coronavirus dominated the years of 2020 and 2021. The measures taken to combat the virus (travel restrictions, the closure of restaurants and the cancellation of events) had a major impact on tourists’ travel behaviour. This change complicates the task of providing certainty about the exact size of the tourism sector during that period. However, this uncertainty has a limited impact on the current study, as the weight of the pandemic years is much lower compared to the ‘normal’ years, in the calculation of the average for the research period as a whole. For example, the value added of the tourism sector halved in 2020⁹⁾, see Figure 3.2. The decline in tourism activity runs parallel to a similar reduction in the environmental impact caused by tourists. 

3.3 Comparison with previous research 

The current study is largely a repetition of a previous research project conducted by Statistics Netherlands in 2017¹⁰⁾. In the current findings, the environmental impact is generally lower in relative terms, while the share of tourism in total value added is higher. An exception to this is the use of biomass. This difference may have been caused by an actual change in the tourism sector, but certainly also by the recalibration of the data since the previous study and improvements made in the methodology (see Section 2.2.3). 

The purpose of this study is to analyse the economic evolution of the tourism sector in relation to its impact on the environment between  2015 and 2022. Compared to other sectors, the tourism sector makes an above average contribution to the consumption of drinking water, biomass and energy, as well as the emitting of greenhouse gases. During the research period, the tourism sector in the Netherlands had an average share in the total economy of approximately 4 percent. However, tourism's share in environmental impact in the aforementioned categories was more than 4 percent of the total. The aviation and accommodation and food services sectors, in particular, are responsible for this above-average share. Another finding is that tourism contributes 7 percent of the total environmental taxes and fees paid. On the other hand, the tourism sector uses few metals and materials, generates little waste and emits low levels of particulate matter.

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.