The concept of the green economy has now entered mainstream policy debates and been endorsed by a range of United Nations and other organizations. The Rio+20 UN conference specifically draw attention to the green economy approach in the context of sustainable development to move away from business-as-usual practices, act to end poverty, address environmental destruction and build a bridge to the sustainable future. It is increasingly recognized that the tourism sector can make a major contribution to the green economy through more sustainable practices, climate change mitigation and ecotourism. The role of tourism sector will continue to be crucial in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda too. However, there are ambiguities about how tourism and allied industries can maximize their contribution to human well-being and ensure environmentally sustainability, embracing issues of political economy, geography and ethics.

In this context, this book provides consensus about what the green economy entails, what role tourism can play in a green economy, early responses from many countries, on-going and emerging research initiatives that will enable tourism s transition to a green economy. The chapters address three key themes: understanding the Green Economy concept and the role of tourism; responses and initiatives in greening tourism; and emerging techniques and research implications. A wide range of case studies from around the world and in different contexts is included, to demonstrate the extent of the challenge and range of opportunities for the tourism industry."

This book addresses many of the key themes that are seen as challenges to achieve sustainability and to mitigate climate change impacts in the near future, in the tourism sector. In particular it focuses on the economic drivers for growth in tourism as they relate to sustainable development, low-carbon travel and climate change impacts. A major feature is the integration of climate change and sustainability challenges, rather than treating them separately or with sustainability as an add-on. The first group of chapters addresses conceptual issues concerning the relationships between sustainability, climate change and tourism. The second section considers regional, national and international responses and initiatives, including those of agencies such as UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves, and the UK's South West Tourism. The third part provides a range of investigative research, including topics such as air travel and coral reef tourism, and case studies from locations such as southern Africa, Scandinavia and the Pacific islands. Other research dimensions discussed in the book are drawn from Brazil, Hawaii, England, Australia and New Zealand. Overall, the book focuses on some of the most crucial challenges facing tourism in developed and developing countries.

The concept of the green economy has now entered mainstream policy debates and been endorsed by a range of United Nations and other organizations. The Rio+20 UN conference specifically drew attention to the green economy approach in the context of sustainable development to move away from business-as-usual practices, act to end poverty, address environmental destruction and build a bridge to the sustainable future. It is increasingly recognized that the tourism sector can make a major contribution to the green economy through more sustainable practices, climate change mitigation and ecotourism. The role of tourism sector will continue to be crucial in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda too. However, there are ambiguities about how tourism and allied industries can maximize their contribution to human well-being and ensure environmentally sustainability, embracing issues of political economy, geography and business ethics. In this context, this book provides consensus about what the green economy entails, what role tourism can play in a green economy, early responses from many countries, on-going and emerging research initiatives that will enable tourism's transition to a green economy. The chapters address three key themes: understanding the Green Economy concept and the role of tourism; responses and initiatives in greening tourism; and emerging techniques and research implications. A wide range of case studies from around the world and in different contexts is included to demonstrate the extent of the challenge and range of opportunities for the tourism industry.