Climate Change and Tourism - UNEP - Division of Technology ...

196 Climate Change and Tourism – Responding to Global Challenges
A2.2.3 Accommodation
Energy use in hotels varies considerably, both with respect to the sources of energy used and the amount
of energy consumed. A more recent review found values for hotel accommodations of between 51
MJ/guest night (Majorca) and 256 MJ/guest night (Zanzibar). 759 Hilton hotels were found to consume
an average of 322 MJ/guest night, while Scandic hotels used an average of 172 MJ/guest night. Hotels
investigated in the Seychelles showed energy uses of 36–108 MJ per bed night, excluding the use of
fossil fuels for cooking, etc. 760 Hotels with self-supporting power generation may use more energy per
bed night. A survey in Zanzibar, Tanzania found that energy consumption was 221 MJ per guest night
for established smaller hotels and up to 916 MJ per guest night for newly opened resort hotels with still
low occupancy rates. 761 The estimated average for well-established hotels was 256 MJ per guest night.
These values exclude primary energy sources such as gas for cooking.
Hotels use generally more energy per visitor than other types of accommodation, as they have energy
intense facilities, such as bars, restaurants, pools, and more spacious rooms. 762 Pensions may have a
comparably low number of beds and occupancy rates are assumed to be somewhat lower than those
of hotels. Even though a rather high energy-consumption values in bed & breakfast facilities in New
Zealand of 110 MJ per guest night was reported, 763 a lower average of 50 MJ is assumed here for all
accommodation establishments in this category. Campsites were assumed to have the lowest energy
use of all categories, with 25 MJ per guest night, while holiday villages were calculated at 90 MJ per
guest night. No data is available for self-catering facilities and vacation homes. These were assumed to
consume 120 MJ and 100 MJ per bed night. For the worldwide mix of tourism accommodations in 2001,
a value of 98 MJ/guest night was established. 764 Hotels tend to become more and more luxurious, resorts
seem to use large amounts of energy, specifically in the booming market for long haul destinations in
developing countries. It is thus assumed that this average value has increased to 120 MJ/guest night, or
19.0 kg CO 2 /guest night for all tourists from developed countries, as well as for international tourists and
domestic tourists in developed countries using commercial accommodation. *
For domestic tourists in developing countries, it seems reasonable to use a lower value for commercial
accommodation. The average developed country amount of CO 2 emissions per capita is 13.1 tonnes/
year (or 36 kg CO 2 /day). 765 If half of this is attributable to housing, this corresponds to 18 kg CO 2 /day,
a value near the 19.0 kg/guest night used for domestic tourism in developed countries. For VFR tourists
in developing countries, this value cannot be used, though, as the average energy consumption, of
people living in developing countries corresponds to 2.2 tonnes of CO 2 per year on average. 766 This
corresponds to 6 kg per head per night. However, this includes emissions from other economic sectors,
such as agriculture, transport, or industry. Household emissions will be less than half of this, and most
VFR tourism will thus lead to concomitantly low emission levels. However, a share of non-VFR domestic
tourism will use high standard accommodation, and thus contribute to the same emission levels as
international tourists (19.0 kg/guest night), significantly increasing the overall domestic developing
countries average. An average of 4 kg CO 2 /guest night for domestic tourists in developing countries is
thus assumed for calculations.
* Note that some hotels running generators may cause substantially higher emissions, with known values of up to 125 kg CO2
per bed night (excluding imports of food by air; Gössling, unpublished data).
UNWTO, 9 July 2008