sustainability
Article
Impact of the Participation of the Tourism Sector on Carbon
Emission Reduction in the Tourism Industry
Siyue Yang 1,† , Qiang Hao 2, *, Yichen Wang 1,† and Cheng Zhang 1
Citation: Yang, S.; Hao, Q.; Wang, Y.;
Zhang, C. Impact of the Participation
of the Tourism Sector on Carbon
Emission Reduction in the Tourism
Industry. Sustainability 2022, 14,
15570. https://doi.org/10.3390/
su142315570
Academic Editor: Anna Mazzi
Received: 29 August 2022
Accepted: 26 October 2022
Published: 23 November 2022
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Sustainability 2022, 14, 15570. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315570
1 School of Public Policy and Administration, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710129, China
2 The Future Lab, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
* Correspondence: qiang_tian@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
† These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract: Carbon emissions in the tourism industry stem from independent industries (e.g., aviation,
accommodation, and catering), but it is unclear whether the participation of the tourism sector
promotes carbon emission reduction. In China, the tourism sector has been involved in the for-
mulation and implementation of low-carbon tourism policies since 2017, providing a quasi-natural
experimental condition for studying whether the participation of the tourism sector can promote the
reduction of carbon emission in the tourism industry. Through a quantitative analysis, we find that
the participation of the tourism sector promotes the carbon emission reduction. In particular, the
participation of tourism departments in the formulation and implementation of low-carbon tourism
policies leads to 1.622 million more tons (1% significance level) of carbon emission reduction in
tourism-developed cities than in other cities. The participation of the tourism sector can promote
carbon emission reduction in the transportation, construction, and commodity production sectors. It
can also promote a low-carbon lifestyle. Finally, we suggest that the tourism industry should use the
market to promote a carbon peak and use technology to achieve carbon neutrality. This study is of
great significance for the reduction of carbon emissions in China’s tourism industry.
Keywords: tourism industry; carbon emission; difference-in-difference; China
1. Introduction
The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP 26) to the United Nations Framework Con-
vention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reaffirmed the Paris Agreement’s temperature
increase target “to hold the increase in global mean surface temperature to well below 2 ◦ C
above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 ◦ C”. If appropri-
ate measures are not adopted to halt the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, the global
temperature could rise 4–5 ◦ C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century [1],
resulting in a sea level rise, reduced crop yields, the spread of infectious diseases, and poor
drinking water resources [1]. In addition, the increased carbon dioxide (CO2 ) concentration
could lead to ocean acidification, which would in turn deal a devastating blow to marine
ecosystems [2]. Therefore, some countries, including China, have set the goal of carbon
neutrality [3].
Tourism relies heavily on carbon-intensive industries [4,5], including oil processing,
steel, construction, and electricity. Both the construction of cultural or natural tourist
attractions and the development of tourist transportation depend on these industries. The
carbon footprint of tourism (the “carbon consumption” of an individual or a group) includes
both direct emissions from tourism activities (e.g., transport, food, and accommodation)
and indirect emissions hidden in goods purchased by tourists (e.g., the production and
transport of goods) [6]. The global annual direct carbon emissions of tourism are 2.9 billion
tons CO2 -e (the CO2 emission equivalent) [7]. Such emissions could increase by 1.6 billion
tons of CO2 -e per year and contribute 8% to global carbon emissions (note: global emissions
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
Sustainability 2022, 14, 15570 2 of 12

refer to anthropogenic emissions) if the life cycle of goods associated with tourism and
indirect energy requirements during travel are taken into account [7]. Greenhouse gases
emitted by tourism include CO2 and methane (CH4 ). CO2 is the main greenhouse gas
emitted by tourism, accounting for 72% of total emissions (3.2 billion tons of CO2 -e, [7]).
The main emission sources are transportation (planes, cars, trains), electricity (hotels and
restaurants), and fossil fuel combustion (involved in the manufacturing process of the
goods purchased by tourists) [8]. CH4 is the second most abundant greenhouse gas emitted
by tourism, accounting for 16% of total emissions (700 million tons of CO2 -e, [7]). The main
emission sources are livestock and aquaculture at the food processing and retail supply
ends [9].
The rapid growth of tourism is bound to lead to increasing carbon emissions [10].
According to a study by the United Nations World Tourism Organization in December 2019
at COP 25 to the UNFCCC, tourism’s CO2 emissions will increase by 25% by 2030 compared
to 2016 levels, according to the current emission intensity and tourism trends [11]. Tourism-
related carbon emissions from the transport sector will increase to approximately 2 billion
tons of CO2 -e by 2030, contributing to 22% of total global transport sector emissions
and 5.3% of total global emissions [11]. COP 26 to the UNFCCC in 2021 called for a
50% reduction in tourism emissions by 2030. This is clearly not achievable without the
decarbonization of the tourism industry.
The total carbon emissions from China’s tourism industry (including direct and indi-
rect emissions) are still uncertain. This is because China has not established a statistical
system of carbon emissions of the tourism industry and there are no independent data
on carbon emissions in the tourism industry in the form of an input–output table [12].
The bottom-up method and top-down methods have been used to calculate the carbon
emissions in China. Using these methods, China’s carbon emissions from tourism were
estimated [13,14] and the effects of various sub-sectors in the tourism sector on carbon
emissions were explored [15]. Scholars have mainly used bottom-up methods to estimate
the tourism related emissions from transportation, accommodation, and tourism activi-
ties [16,17] and the results show an increase in carbon emissions in tourism in China, from
1468.08 × 104 tons in 1990 to 11,568.17 × 104 tons in 2012 [17]. The results also show a sub-
sequent increase, from 9954.57 × 104 tons in 2013 to 17,565.51 × 104 tons in 2019 [12]. With
the continuous development of China’s economy and the increase in residents’ incomes,
more people are expected to be involved in the tourism industry. If tourism still maintains
the emission characteristics of the present stage, carbon emission is bound to increase in
the future. The transportation sector is the largest contributor to the carbon emissions of
tourism in China, accounting for 78–85% of total emissions [12,17]. The carbon emission of
civil aviation is the main emission source of the current transportation sector, accounting
for approximately 80% of total transportation emissions [12].
Except for the calculation of the tourism-related carbon emissions, studies also probed
the relationship between the development of tourism and carbon emissions in China. Both
the CO2 emissions and the number of tourists increased from 2014 to 2017 [8], while the
CO2 emission intensity decreased during this period [18]. Although the tourism sector
contributed to the total carbon emissions, the development of tourism contributes to the
decrease in carbon emission intensities [18].
The existing studies also focused on the characteristics of tourism carbon emissions,
including spatial and temporal differences, socio-economic driving factors and the impact
of tourism development on carbon emissions. There are significant regional differences in
tourism-related carbon emissions and emission efficiency in China [8]. In particular, the
emission efficiency is high in the east and low in the west. At present, most provinces and
regions are still at the inefficiency level and there is a large room for improvement in the
emission efficiency [19]. In terms of the driving factors, tourism scale and consumption
could promote carbon emissions, while the improvement of energy intensity would reduce
the carbon emissions of tourism [8]. The tourism industry agglomeration has a U-shaped
(inverted U-shaped) relationship with carbon emissions in tourism-developed (under-
Sustainability 2022, 14, 15570 3 of 12

developed) areas. Besides, a few studies identified the impact of tourism developments on
China’s carbon emissions and found that the development of tourism can reduce carbon
intensity [20].
In summary, previous studies mainly focused on the characteristics of tourism’s carbon
emissions, including spatial and temporal differences, socio-economic driving factors, and
the impact of tourism development on carbon emissions. The impact of the participation of
the tourism sector on carbon emission reduction is still unclear. In reality, as the aviation,
accommodation, catering, and other industries involved in the tourism sector are all inde-
pendent industries, tourism enterprises or authorities lack sufficient jurisdiction. Therefore,
low-carbon policies are often not targeted at the tourism industry and the tourism sector
may not be involved in the management of carbon emissions [12]. Jin et al. [21] summarized
policies related to low-carbon tourism in China. Before 2017, low-carbon measures for
tourism mainly came from the carbon emission reduction policies of other sectors (e.g., the
transportation department) and the tourism department did not participate in the formu-
lation and implementation of low-carbon policies. Since 2017, the tourism department
has been involved in the formulation and implementation of low-carbon tourism poli-
cies. For example, the “Opinions on Promoting the Integrated Development of Transport
and Tourism”, jointly formulated by the tourism department and six other departments
(e.g., the transportation department), issued specific measures for low-carbon tourism in
great detail. In addition, the China Culture and Tourism Administration issued the “Basic
Requirements and Evaluation of Tourism Homestay”, which used energy conservation
and environmental protection as an important evaluation index. Such a context provides a
quasi-natural experimental condition for studying whether the participation of the tourism
sector can promote carbon emission reduction in the tourism industry.
The aim of this study is to clarify whether the participation of the tourism sector
promotes the reduction in carbon emissions in the tourism industry and to further explain
why such participation can promote carbon emission reduction. Based on the analysis,
policy suggestions for the tourism industry in China are given.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Empirical Model
To verify whether the participation of the tourism sector promotes carbon emission
reduction in the tourism industry, we selected 152 cities at and above the prefecture-level
from 2014 to 2017 as the research sample. The treatment group consisted of 19 tourism-
developed cities, which were the top 19 cities in terms of tourism revenue (e.g., Beijing,
Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Xian, Chengdu, Qingdao,
Ningbo, Changzhou, Wuxi, Dalian, Shaoxing, Yantai, Jiaxing, Taizhou, and Huzhou). Most
of the 19 tourism-developed cities were provincial capital cities. The remaining cities were
classified as the control group.
A DID framework was used to determine whether the participation of the tourism
sector led to a greater carbon emission reduction in the tourism-developed cities than in
other cities. The DID method has been widely used in policy evaluation [22–24] and can
effectively avoid the endogenous and missing variables problem.
We used the standard DID estimation model as follows:

Carbonit = β 0 + β 1 Treatit × Postit + ∑ γX × Controlit + ui + τt + ε it (1)

where i represents the city and t represents the year. Carbonit represents the emissions
of CO2 of city i in year t. Treatit equals 1 if a given city is a tourism-developed city and
0 otherwise. Postit equals 1 only after a city has carried out the low-carbon policy. The
DID interaction term in this study is the independent variable, that is, Treatit × Postit .
For treated cities that have implemented the low-carbon policy, the value of Treatit is 1;
otherwise, it is 0. Before the policy has been implemented (before 2017), the value of
Postit is 0; otherwise, it is 1. The coefficient of Treatit × Postit reflects the net effect of the
low-carbon policy of the tourism sector participation on tourism-developed cities.
 of industrial enterprises above a designated size, electricity consum
supply. 𝑢 represents the city fixed effect, 𝜏 represents the year fixe
notes the random disturbance term.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 15570 4 of 12
Rosenbaum and Rubin [25] used the propensity score as a distan
the control group with the treated group, which is called propen
We focused on β 1 in this study, which described the net effect. To ensure that the
(PSM). ThisDIDmethod reduces
model is robust, multiple
it is necessary to add the matching covariates
control variables to a sing
affecting dependent
variables, where Controlit indicates all the control variables we select. There were a total of
propensity10 score, thus avoiding the “curse of dimensionality”. In our
control variables, including population, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), land used for
to find an effective control
urban construction, group
green covered area,and then
tertiary estimated
industry as a percentagethe
of GDP,impact
secondaryof the
industry as a percentage of GDP, primary industry as a percentage of GDP, number of
policy on the emissions
industrial of CO
enterprises above 2 more
a designated size, reliably through
electricity consumption, PSM-DID.
and total gas supply. De
ui represents the city fixed effect, τt represents the year fixed effect, and ε it denotes the
DID and the robust
random checks
disturbance term. of the results are used in this study. In ou
Rosenbaum and Rubin [25] used the propensity score as a distance function to match
one-to-one the nearest neighbor matching method to find the control gro
control group with the treated group, which is called propensity score matching (PSM).
that almostThis allmethod
treatedreducessamples matched
multiple matching covariates into a the
single common
index, that is, thesupport
propensity area
score, thus avoiding the “curse of dimensionality”. In our study, we used PSM to find an
matched results are representative.
effective control group and then estimated the impact of the tourism low-carbon policy on
the emissions of CO2 more reliably through PSM-DID. Details regarding PSM-DID and the
Figurerobust
1 denotes
checks of the the differences
results of covariates
are used in this study. In our study, webefore and after m
used the one-to-one
ment groupnearest andneighbor
control matching method to find the control group. The results show that almost
group. It can be seen that all points are close
all treated samples matched in the common support area, suggesting that the matched
after matching, which
results are means that the deviation between the variab
representative.
Figure 1 denotes the differences of covariates before and after matching in the treat-
reduced. This ment means that PSM
group and control group. Itmakes
can be seenthe treatment
that all group
points are close to the puremore
line of comp

group. The0reduced. after matching, which means that the deviation between the variables has been greatly
results Thisshow
means thatthat almost
PSM makes all treatment
the treatment samples
group more comparable to thematch
control in t
area, suggesting group. Thethatresultsthe
showmatched resultssamples
that almost all treatment
area, suggesting that the matched results are representative.
are representative.
match in the common support

Figure 1. Matching results

Figure 1. Matching resultsbased
based on on
PSM PSM
(Carbon).(Carbon).

Table 1 shows the covariate differences before and after match

indicates that the differences of covariates between the treatment grou
Sustainability 2022, 14, 15570 5 of 12

Table 1 shows the covariate differences before and after matching. Additionally, it
indicates that the differences of covariates between the treatment group and control group
are not significant after matching, which means that the regression results based on PSM
are more reliable.

Table 1. Covariate differences before and after matching (Carbon).

Mean %Reduction t-test

Variable
Sample Treated Control %Bias Bias t p>t
Unmatched 666.1 442.09 82.2 6.89 0
pop Matched 664.9 727.33 −22.9 72.1 −1.26 0.21
Unmatched 18.093 16.331 228.1 17.12 0
lgdp Matched 17.919 18.01 −11.8 94.8 −0.72 0.476
Unmatched 480.53 113 143.3 18.72 0
land Matched 422.43 450.48 −10.9 92.4 −0.48 0.629
Unmatched 42.904 39.585 54.4 3.78 0
gca Matched 42.63 40.411 36.4 33.1 1.85 0.067
Unmatched 3.1022 10.899 −165.7 −10.56 0
pi Matched 3.5579 2.8912 14.2 91.4 1.68 0.096
Unmatched 43.963 47.605 −43.1 −3.27 0.001
si Matched 44.612 47.52 −34.4 20.2 −2.18 0.032
Unmatched 52.935 41.496 126.1 9.8 0
ti Matched 51.831 49.587 24.7 80.4 1.54 0.125
Unmatched 4253.8 1084.4 192.4 21.53 0
ie Matched 3374.4 3779.3 −24.6 87.2 −1.64 0.104
Unmatched 4.20 × 106 9.30 × 105 158.1 18.83 0
ec Matched 3.30 × 106 3.50 × 106 −10.8 93.2 −0.47 0.642
Unmatched 1.80 × 105 22,448 68.5 10.64 0
gas
Matched 1.40 × 105 1.20 × 105 10 85.4 0.57 0.57
if variance ratio outside [0.63; 1.58] for U and [0.59; 1.69] for M.

2.2. Data Sources and Description

The CO2 emission data in 152 cities are from Chen et al. [26] because there are no
independent data on carbon emissions in the tourism industry in the form of an input–
output table. Similarly, data from the transport sector, which contributes the most carbon
emissions in the tourism industry, cannot be obtained accurately. We used the CO2 emission
data of each city, instead of the transport sector data.
Control variables including population, GDP, land used for urban construction, green
covered area, tertiary industry as a percentage of GDP, secondary industry as a percentage
of GDP, primary industry as a percentage of GDP, the number of industrial enterprises
above a designated size, electricity consumption, and total gas supply are from the China
City Statistical Yearbook [27–30].
Table 2 exhibits the descriptive statistics of all the variables between the treatment
group and control group. The mean of CO2 emissions in treatment group and control group
are 60.877 and 27.612 (million tons). This shows that the CO2 emission of the treatment
group is more than twice that of the control group. Except that the primary industry as a
percentage of the GRP and secondary industry as a percentage of the GRP in the treatment
group are less than those in the control group, the values of the other eight control variables
are greater in the treatment group than those in the control group. The main reason is
that most of the cities in the treatment group are economically developed and densely
populated tourist cities.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 15570 6 of 12

Table 2. Descriptive statistics.

Treatment Group Control Group

Variables Variables Description
Mean Min Max Mean Min Max
Carbon CO2 emissions 60.877 25.973 129.601 27.612 4.625 150.049
POP Population 666.102 263.1 1417 442.089 31 1258
Natural logarithm of
LGDP 18.093 16.200 19.451 16.331 13.904 19.039
per capita GDP
LAND Land used for urban construction 480.526 96 1603 112.998 14 995
Green Covered Area as % of
GCA 42.904 32.5 61.58 39.585 2.71 95.25
Completed Area
Primary industry as
PI 3.102 0.03 7.11 10.899 0.25 28.04
percentage to GRP
Secondary industry as
SI 43.963 19.01 54.1 47.605 13.57 75.49
percentage to GRP
Tertiary industry as
TI 52.935 39.91 80.56 41.496 21.9 77.29
percentage to GRP
Number of industrial enterprises
IE 4253.816 1146 10,432 1084.365 21 5525
above designated size
EC Electricity consumption 4,186,158 780,792 15,035,283 934,341.2 36,722 10,353,925
GAS Total gas supply 178,096.4 4216 1,641,696 22,447.98 50 422,860

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Participation of Tourism Sector can Promote Tourism Carbon Emission Reduction
After controlling the factors (e.g., economic development, land use, and population;
Table 3) that affect CO2 emissions, we compared the change in carbon emissions between
tourism-developed cities and other cities. If the participation of tourism departments in
the formulation and implementation of low-carbon tourism policies leads to higher carbon
emission reduction in tourism-developed cities than in other cities, the participation of
tourism departments promotes the reduction of carbon emissions in the tourism industry.
Otherwise, the participation of the tourism sector has no impact on the reduction of carbon
emissions in the tourism industry.

Table 3. Estimation results of the effect of the tourism low-carbon policy on carbon dioxide emission
based on PSM-DID.

Variables Coef. St.Err. t-Value [95% Conf Interval]

Treat × Post −1.622 *** 0.453 −3.580 −2.516 −0.727
pop 0.004 0.003 1.610 −0.001 0.009
lgdp 0.243 0.298 0.820 −0.346 0.832
land 0.003 0.003 1.070 −0.003 0.009
gca 0.015 0.013 1.160 −0.011 0.041
pi 9.172 11.509 0.800 −13.569 31.912
si 9.208 11.505 0.800 −13.526 31.941
ti 9.180 11.505 0.800 −13.553 31.913
ie −0.0005 0.0005 −0.91 −0.002 0.001
ec 8.8 × 10−8 9.2 × 10−8 0.97 −9.3 × 10−8 2.7 × 10−7
gas −3.2 × 10−6 3.6 × 10−6 −0.91 −0.00001 3.8 × 10−6
Year fixed effect YES
City fixed effect YES
Constant −918.101 1150.913 −0.80 −3192.195 1355.994
R-squared 0.9987 Number of obs 608
Note: *** denote significance levels of 1%.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 15570 7 of 12

As shown in Table 3, the participation of tourism departments in the formulation

and implementation of low-carbon tourism policies leads to 1.622 million more tons (1%
significance level) of carbon emission reduction in tourism-developed cities than in other
cities, suggesting that the participation of the tourism sector can promote the reduction of
carbon emissions in the tourism industry.

3.2. Robustness Checks

3.2.1. Results Based on Different PSM Methods
To further verify the robustness of the research results, this paper used a different
matching method to control the self-selection bias, which is a from 1 to 4 nearest neighbor
matching method. The result using the from 1 to 4 nearest neighbor matching method show
that carbon emission reduction policies lead to decreases in CO2 emissions by the same
value (Table 4), except for the slight difference in the size of the standard error. Therefore,
the analysis is robust.

Table 4. Estimation results of using a from 1 to 4 nearest neighbor matching method.

Variables Coef. St.Err. t-Value [95% Conf Interval]

Treat × Post −1.622 *** 0.4527 −3.58 −2.515939 −0.7271445
pop 0.004 0.0025 1.61 −0.0009249 0.0089765
lgdp 0.243 0.2980 0.82 −0.3457007 0.8320372
land 0.003 0.0030 1.07 −0.0027688 0.0092538
gca 0.015 0.0130 1.16 −0.0106069 0.0406528
pi 9.172 11.5091 0.8 −13.569230 31.912450
si 9.208 11.5053 0.8 −13.525690 31.941100
ti 9.180 11.5051 0.8 −13.552710 31.913220
ie −0.0005 0.0005 −0.91 −0.0015682 0.0005770
ec 0.0000001 0.0000001 0.97 −0.0000001 0.0000003
gas −0.000003 0.0000036 −0.91 −0.0000103 0.0000038
Year fixed effect YES
City fixed effect YES
Constant −918.1008 1150.913 −0.80 −3192.195 1355.994
R-squared 0.9987 Number of obs 608
Note: *** denote significance levels of 1%.

3.2.2. Placebo Test

As a second robustness check, we constructed a counterfactual test to check whether
our results were driven by other unobserved factors. In doing so, we selected a different
date (2016) in lieu of the real start date of the tourism low-carbon policy, specifying the
interaction term between the treatment variable and the different start time variable as
Treatit × Post_16it . The tourism low-carbon policy could only take effect after 2017, while
the Treatit × Post_16it coefficient could reflect the impact of the tourism low-carbon policy
at the wrong time. If the estimated coefficient of Treatit × Post_16it was significant and
had the same sign as that of the true tourism low-carbon policy shown in Table 3, we can
conclude that CO2 emission reduction in pilot cities cannot be mainly attributed to the
tourism low-carbon policy and the robustness of the DID model is inadequate. According to
the regressions shown in Table 5, the coefficient of Treatit × Post_16it was not significantly
negative at a 1% level. That is to say, the effect of the CO2 emission reduction policy
was evident.

3.3. Reasons Why the Participation of Tourism Sector can Promote Tourism Carbon
Emission Reduction
Low-carbon tourism refers to the control of greenhouse gas emissions in tourism
development, namely the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in tourism development
through the development of low-carbon tourism transportation, low-carbon tourism ac-
commodation, low-carbon tourism catering, and various low-carbon tourism activities. The
Sustainability 2022, 14, 15570 8 of 12

participation of the tourism sector can contribute to carbon emission reduction by creating
low-carbon tourism attractions, which can be divided into tourism facilities and tourism
culture. Tourism facilities include the important carbon sink of natural resources (wetland,
ocean, and forest) [31,32] and artificial facilities (low-carbon buildings, transportation, and
tourism activity products) [33,34]. The low-carbon lifestyle can be promoted in the form of
cultural tourism through means such as a low-carbon demonstration zone [35,36].
(1) Low-carbon tourism transportation: The tourism sector could adopt low-carbon
vehicles to replace traditional high-emission vehicles. For example, it can create more
tourist attractions for cycling tours and hiking [33], providing electric cars instead of
traditional high-emission vehicles [37].
(2) Low-carbon buildings: In recent years, disasters have increased the carbon emissions
of China’s tourism industry. For example, the provinces of Henan, Sichuan, Shanxi,
and Hebei were hit by severe rainstorms and floods in July 2021. Severe rainstorms
and floods hit the provinces of Hubei and Shaanxi in August 2021. In September, a
magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred in the Luxian county of the Sichuan Province and
a mud rock slide occurred in the Tianquan County of Ya’an, Sichuan Province. As
the global temperature continues to rise, more extreme climate events are expected
to occur in the future [17]. Rebuilding after extreme disasters, which often damages
local cultural relics and tourist facilities, generates new carbon emissions. The tourism
sector is thus directly involved in guiding the reconstruction of and deciding whether
to adopt low-carbon solutions.
(3) Low-carbon tourism-related food, beverages, and commodities: The indirect emis-
sions from the production of food, beverages, and commodities contributes to 35% of
the annual CO2 emissions from the tourism sector (1.6 billion tons of CO2 -e) [7]. If the
tourism sector were to purchase low-carbon products, carbon emissions in the sectors
producing and processing these commodities would be reduced.
(4) The promotion of a low-carbon lifestyle: The realization of low-carbon development
ultimately depends on people’s actions, which are governed by their values. Es-
tablishing low-carbon values is helpful for the promotion of a low-carbon lifestyle
(e.g., low-carbon consumption, family life, office life, and relaxation). The tourism
sector could instill low-carbon values in tourists by establishing low-carbon popular
science attractions and low-carbon tourism demonstration areas [35,36].

Table 5. Estimation results of placebo test.

Variables Coef. St.Err. t-Value [95% Conf Interval]

Treat×Post_16 −0.371 0.340 −1.09 −1.0420990 0.3008057
pop 0.003 0.003 1.14 −0.0022309 0.0083578
lgdp 0.009 0.318 0.03 −0.6195018 0.6379815
land 0.003 0.003 0.91 −0.0032625 0.0088183
gca 0.017 0.014 1.21 −0.0106673 0.0444880
pi 7.782 11.810 0.66 −15.554510 31.117820
si 7.830 11.806 0.66 −15.498630 31.157660
ti 7.801 11.806 0.66 −15.525470 31.127840
ie −0.001 0.001 −1.04 −0.0018481 0.0005732
ec −2.13 × 10−8 1.08 × 10−7 −0.2 −0.0000002 0.0000002
gas −4.42 × 10−6 3.57 × 10−6 −1.24 −0.0000115 0.0000026
Year fixed effect YES
City fixed effect YES
Constant −776.117 1181.29 −0.66 −3110.234 1558
R-squared 0.9987 Number of obs 608

3.4. Policy Implications

We found that the participation of the tourism sector promotes carbon emission
reduction in the tourism industry and further explored the reasons why such promotion
 We found that the participation of the tourism sector promotes carbo
duction in the tourism industry and further explored the reasons why su
occurs. How the tourism sector can better promote low carbon emissions is a
Sustainability 2022, 14, 15570 of discussion. 9 of 12

First, the complete calculation of tourism carbon emissions is needed. C

modities, and manufacturing are also important sources of carbon emission
occurs. How the tourism sector can better promote low carbon emissions is an urgent topic
industry
of discussion. [7]. However, the total emission estimation of China’s tourism onl
carbon
First, emissions
the complete of the transportation
calculation of tourism carbonand accommodation
emissions sectors
is needed. Catering, com-and ex
modities, and manufacturing are also important sources of carbon emission in the tourism
bon emissions of the food, beverage, and commodity manufacturing sec
industry [7]. However, the total emission estimation of China’s tourism only involves the
doubtedly,
carbon emissions such
of thecarbon emission
transportation accountingsectors
and accommodation requires the cooperation
and excludes the carbon and
of the tourism
emissions sector.
of the food, beverage, and commodity manufacturing sectors [18]. Undoubt-
edly, such carbon emission accounting requires the cooperation and participation of the
The tourism industry should use the market to promote a carbon peak
tourism sector.
nology to achieve
The tourism carbon
industry neutrality
should (Figure
use the market 2). If alla carbon
to promote emissions
carbon peak and use are ch
of carbontoemissions
technology achieve carbon is already
neutrality included
(Figure 2). Ifinallthe decision-making
carbon process. B
emissions are charged,
the cost of carbon emissions is already included in the decision-making process. Based
sonable carbon price, the market can maximize the utilization benefit of exis
on a reasonable carbon price, the market can maximize the utilization benefit of existing
that is, to
resources, maintain
that the the
is, to maintain rapid
rapidand
and healthy development
healthy development of tourism
of tourism and realizeand real
emission
the peak at
carbon emission theatcurrent
peak technological
the current technological levellevel
[17].[17].

Figure
Figure 2. The waysways
2. The in which
in tourism
whichcan achieve can
tourism the sustainable
achieve thedevelopment.
sustainable development.
A carbon price can be implemented in two forms: a carbon tax or cap-and-trade [17].
A carbonrefers
The cap-and-trade pricetocan be implemented
capping in two offorms:
the total carbon emissions differenta regions,
carbonsectors,
tax or cap-a
enterprises, or individuals. If carbon emissions exceed a certain level, the excess emissions
The cap-and-trade refers to capping the total carbon emissions of differen
should be bought from other regions, sectors, enterprises, or individuals [38]. China
tors, enterprises,
applied the cap-and-tradeor individuals.
scheme Emission If carbon
Trading emissions
Scheme (ETS) exceed a certain level, th
to carbon-intensive
sions should
industries bepower
(e.g., the bought from
sector) other
on 16 regions,
July 2021. sectors,
Meanwhile, ETSenterprises,
was piloted inor individu
a few
provinces (e.g., Guangdong, Chongqing, and Hubei) [18]. As
applied the cap-and-trade scheme Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) to carbo mentioned above, tourism
relies heavily on carbon-intensive industries. Therefore, the implementation of ETS has
dustries
had (e.g.,effect
a significant the onpower
carbonsector)
emissionon 16 Julyin 2021.
reductions China’sMeanwhile,
tourism industry ETS[39].was pi
provinces
However, (e.g., Guangdong,
the participation Chongqing,
of tourism enterprises in ETSand
is lowHubei)
and only[18].
a fewAslargementioned
hotels a
participate in the ETS system because most tourism enterprises
relies heavily on carbon-intensive industries. Therefore, the implementati are small- and medium-
sized enterprises with low emissions [12]. The full participation of the tourism industry in
hadrequires
ETS a significant
coordinationeffect on carbon
and planning by the emission reductions in China’s tourism
tourism sector.
However, the participation
Market measures of tourism
can only help achieve a carbon enterprises in ETS
peak; to achieve is low
the carbon and only a fe
neutrality
of tourism, we need to solve a number of technical issues.
participate in the ETS system because most tourism enterprises are As mentioned above, the small-
development of the tourism industry relies heavily on carbon-intensive industries. The
sizedsources
major enterprises with emissions
of the carbon low emissions
in tourism [12].
areThe full participation
transportation (planes, cars,ofand
the touri
ETS requires
trains), coordination
electric power (required to and planning
operate the hotelsby andthe tourismand
restaurants), sector.
the burning
of fossil fuels (involved in the production of goods as well as animal husbandry and
aquaculture for food processing and retail supply). The basis for achieving zero emissions
of CO2 in the transport, power, and manufacturing sectors is the decarbonization of
Sustainability 2022, 14, 15570 10 of 12

electricity. The decarbonization of electricity can be realized if a grid-level energy storage

battery can be invented [32]; if the incidence of nuclear power can be reduced to zero using
artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other advanced methods [40]; if the materials
can be created to prevent hydrogen leakage [41,42]; and if the cost of these technologies
is comparable to that of conventional fossil fuels. The carbon emissions of the animal
husbandry and aquaculture sectors related to the tourism industry mainly include the
greenhouse gas emissions from chemical fertilizer, livestock, and poultry. If gene technology
is used to create crops that fully absorb nitrogen fertilizer and cell multiplication can be
developed to produce plant-based meat substitutes that taste like real meat, then carbon
neutrality can be realized in the animal husbandry and aquaculture sector. If there is a
disruptive technology that converts CO2 into starch [43] that can be commercialized, the
goal of carbon neutrality in tourism can be achieved while addressing the global food crisis.
Note that the market and technology are not independent (Figure 2). When a zero-
carbon technology is still in its infancy, social capital is not a risk to investment, so the
government needs to invest in technology. Once the technology is mature enough to realize
the possibility of industrialization, social capital is bound to be injected in large quantities
to further promote the implementation of the technology. The adoption and popularization
of technology also produce a return on the investment of social capital (Figure 2).
Overall, the tourism sector should actively participate in emission reductions in
greenhouse gases. In particular, the tourism sector should actively participate in ETS,
reduce the level of hotel energy consumption, encourage participation in the forestry
carbon sink, and integrate low-carbon elements into tourism projects. In less developed
western regions (e.g., the Shaanxi Province), tourism can serve as a low-carbon alternative
to carbon-intensive industries. In addition, tourism-related transportation vehicles (cars
and buses) should adopt electric vehicles as much as possible and actively promote the
electrification of civil aviation aircrafts, which can pave the way for the application of zero-
carbon technology in tourism after the realization of the zero carbonization of electricity.
Practically, the results of our study suggest that the tourism sector should change its
role and actively participate in the carbon emission reduction of tourism, instead of waiting
for the emission reduction measures of other sectors to passively reduce tourism-related
carbon emissions. Theoretically, future studies should focus on how the tourism sector
could more effectively participate in the carbon emission reductions; few studies have
tried to uncover how the tourism sector could effectively participate in carbon emission
reductions. As we found that the participation of tourism can promote low carbon emis-
sions, future studies should try to uncover how the tourism sector could more effectively
participate in the carbon emission reductions.

4. Conclusions
Because aviation, accommodation, catering, and other industries involved in the
tourism sector are all independent industries, it has been unclear whether the participation
of the tourism sector can facilitate carbon emission reduction. In this study, through a
quantitative analysis, we found that the participation of the tourism sector can promote
carbon emission reduction in the tourism industry. In particular, the participation of
tourism departments in the formulation and implementation of low-carbon tourism policies
leads to a 1.622 million tons (1% significance level) higher carbon emission reduction in
tourism-developed cities than in other cities. The participation of the tourism sector can
promote carbon emission reduction in the sectors of transportation, construction, and
commodity production. It can also promote a low-carbon lifestyle. Finally, we suggest
that the tourism industry use the market to promote a carbon peak and use technology to
achieve carbon neutrality.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 15570 11 of 12

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, Y.W. and Q.H.; methodology, Y.W. and S.Y.; software, S.Y.;
validation, Y.W. and Q.H.; formal analysis, Y.W. and Q.H.; investigation, Y.W., Q.H., S.Y. and C.Z.;
resources, Y.W. and Q.H.; data curation, Y.W. and S.Y.; writing—original draft preparation, Y.W., Q.H.
and S.Y.; writing—review and editing, Y.W., Q.H., S.Y. and C.Z.; visualization, Y.W.; supervision,
Q.H; project administration, Y.W.; funding acquisition, Y.W. All authors have read and agreed to the
published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the Shaanxi Province soft scientific research projects (2022KRM071)
and Shaanxi Province philosophy and social sciences major theoretical and practical research projects
(2022ND0234).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: Yichen Wang acknowledges the Science and Technology Department of Shaanxi
Province.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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