The Complexity of Global Tourism and Greenhouse Gases

Abstract

This study investigates the complexity of global tourism (tourism arrivals and tourism departures) of 93 countries by considering the greenhouse gases characteristics (carbon dioxide emission, nitrous oxide, methane, and fluorinated gas) in 2012 using a complex adaptive system approach. The results of the study indicated that greenhouse gases characteristics and global tourism interact in a nonlinear manner. Results showed that the indices of global tourism are unpredictable for a certain period, and in the long run, will drop down to zero once the greenhouse gases characteristics reach its maximum for the low-income and lower middle-income countries. However, in highly developed countries, the level of greenhouse gases characteristics does not matter to global tourism. Global tourism is not dependent on how high or low the greenhouse gases characteristics of highly developed countries are, which implies that other factors have influenced the global tourism of these countries even if the greenhouse gases characteristics are high. It is suggested that the governments in low income and lower-middle-income countries which significantly rely on tourism should be responsive by inventing and adopting green technology, promoting eco-friendly operation and adopting sustainable tourism to protect the environment and promote renewable energy which will help lessen the greenhouse gases emitted by various production industries.