WebinarOnline
Decarbonising travel: The future of sustainable transport and its impact on mass tourism
Friday, 6 November 2026
This webinar compares ways to cut transport emissions while keeping tourism accessible and supporting destinations that depend on visitors.
About this event
Mass tourism depends on accessible and affordable transport, yet transport accounts for a substantial share of tourism-related greenhouse gas emissions. This webinar compares pathways for decarbonisation across aviation, rail, maritime travel and road transport. It examines technological efficiency, electrification, alternative fuels, operational improvement and measures that influence demand. The analysis will distinguish reductions in emissions per passenger from absolute reductions across the transport system, since growth in travel can outweigh gains achieved through more efficient vehicles or operations.
Panellists will debate the technical readiness, infrastructure requirements and likely timescales associated with competing strategies. The discussion will consider carbon pricing, taxation, public investment, service regulation and integrated transport planning. It will also examine the position of island states, remote regions and communities whose economies depend heavily on long-distance arrivals. Equity will remain central, including the distribution of transition costs among frequent travellers, occasional travellers, workers, businesses and residents with limited alternatives to existing modes of transport.
Participants will gain a framework for comparing transport strategies according to their carbon reduction potential, feasibility, public cost and social consequences. They will learn to question assumptions about future demand, fuel availability and the pace of fleet replacement. The session will also consider how policy packages can combine technology with modal shift and more deliberate management of travel volumes. This approach will enable delegates to evaluate whether a proposed pathway supports a fair transition or postpones difficult decisions through optimistic projections. This enables transport policy to reflect both climate evidence and destination realities.