The dynamic changes of tourism carbon footprint along the Yangtze River economic belt

This paper, using a comprehensive model to calculate the data collected from the 11 provinces along the Yangtze River Economic Belt, analyzed the 15-year dynamic changes in tourism carbon footprint in this region from 2004 to 2018. Our findings included: (1) Both total and per capita tourism carbon footprint of the 11 provinces along the Yangtze River Economic Belt tend to increase, bringing higher pressure on the environment except for the year of 2009 when the study of “low-carbon tourism” temporarily slowed down the regional carbon emissions. (2) In the lower basin of the region, Jiangsu claimed the highest in both total and per capita carbon footprint of tourism, while Shanghai saw an obvious effect in controlling carbon emissions through tourism. Jiangxi and Guizhou increased their tourism carbon footprint at the fastest paces in the middle and the upper basin, respectively. And (3) the per capita carbon footprint of tourism in the eastern, central, and western parts of the Yangtze River Economic Belt was 143.7kg/person, 97.9kg/person, and 104.8kg/person, respectively, showing that the east was greater than the west, which in turn was greater than the central part. The Yangtze River Economic Belt was meeting the dual challenges of economic development and carbon emission reduction with an obvious upward trend of carbon emissions through tourism. It had become one of the key tasks for the region to conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions, and develop low-carbon tourism.