In$-$Class Case Study Assignment $10\%$ of your grade

Valencia $$ the first city in the world to measure the carbon footprint of tourism

Valencia is the third largest city in Spain, after Madrid and Barcelona. It is one of the oldest cities in the country, with a rich history and many attractions that entice both leisure and business tourists $($e$.$g$.,$ World Heritage sites, City of Arts and Sciences, gardens, beaches$).$ Tourism therefore plays a key role in the economy of the city.

According to Visit Valencia, the city$$s tourism board, sustainability became an important part of the tourism strategy since $2016.$ In an interview given in $2020$ for Lonely Planet, the councillor for tourism of the Valencia City Council mentioned that:

In $2015,$ when the Valencia $2020$ Strategic Plan began to take shape, the city made a commitment to develop a sustainable tourism model that was more integrated and more accessible for both citizens and visitors, while also generating economic wealth for the city.

The city representatives recognise the challenges posed by climate change and the implications of the COVID$-19$ pandemic on the tourism sector, taking measures to make tourism development in the city more sustainable. Thus, they designed a new Sustainable Tourism Strategy $2030$ and identified key stakeholders that can help in achieving their objectives. They have also created a $$sustainability roadmap$$ to help Valencia become a carbon$-$neutral destination by $2025.$

To achieve this ambitious target, the city recently carried out research to measure the sources of CO$2$ emissions from tourism activities in ten different areas, including water management, waste, transportation, day visitors, cruise passengers and accommodation. They also identified $151$ indicators to help with measuring and monitoring the progress made. These actions helped the city authorities understand where they are and what further steps, they need to take in order to become one of the world$$s leading city destinations in sustainable tourism with zero environmental impact.

Discussion points:

$1.$ Why do you think it is important for Valencia to measure the carbon footprint of tourism?

$2.$ What are the strengths of the measures taken by the city of Valencia towards becoming a carbon$-$neutral destination?

$3.$ What other specific measures would you propose in order for them to achieve this ambitious target?

$4.$ Based on your research into the case study, what are some of the solutions and recommendations.

$5.$ Why is carbon footprint of tourism becoming relevant when taking sustainability into account.