The Climate Question

Can tourism ever be good for the climate?

09.24.2023 - By BBC World ServicePlay

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This week, we’re off to Costa Rica, an eco-tourism hotspot in collaboration with BBC’s The Travel Show. Eco-tourism is big business - it’s forecasted to generate $103 billion annually by 2027. But how well do its green claims actually stack up when it comes to the climate? Presenter Qasa Alom visits the birthplace of Sea Turtle conservation, goes on patrol with a ranger protecting the forest from loggers and miners, and spots luxury tourist developments in the terrain of the puma. How big is tourism’s climate impact, and can this ever be mitigated by its benefits? Guests:

Ralf Buckley, Director of the International Centre for Ecotourism Research, and Research Director of the Climate Response Program at Griffith University, Australia.

Stefan Gossling, Professor at the Linnaeus University School of Business and Economics and Lund University's Department of Service Management If you have a question about climate change that you’d like us to answer, or a comment – please email them to [email protected] Presenter: Qasa Alom

Producers: Sophie Eastaugh for The Climate Question and Jamie Hamilton for The Travel Show

Researcher: Octavia Woodward

Series Producer: Simon Watts

Editor: China Collins

Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell

Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill, Jacqui Johnson

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