Tourism in Iceland: Individual Carbon Footprint and the Potential to be Carbon Neutral

• Main Author: Venet, Ange-Elise
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: SIT Digital Collections 2018
• Subjects: Demography; Population; and Ecology; Environmental Studies; International and Area Studies; Place and Environment; Tourism; Iceland
• Online Access: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2798; https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3820&context=isp_collection

World population has increased decade after decade and tourism is following the same trend. Tourism in Iceland is no exception, expanding each year. Most human actions have adverse effects on the planet, including travel. As traveling amongst humans increases so will tourism emissions. It is important to be aware of the impacts our actions have and the options available to make it better. Since carbon emissions for travelers are inevitable, this research has calculated the cost of offsetting those emissions through afforestation in Iceland. Most imagine a heavy financial burden to offset emissions but in reality, most visitors would only require an 8-24 USD contribution. The issue faced is lack of mitigation options. With a minimal financial burden on tourists, Iceland only lacks the resources for carbon neutral tourism.