🌅 Where Tourism Happens

SOURCE

World Resources Institute

WHAT TO KNOW

• Coastal and marine tourism represents at least half of all global tourism, bringing in $4.6 trillion each year, around 5% of global GDP. Tourism is also the main economic sector of most small island nations and many coastal countries, and is on pace to become the world’s largest ocean economy sector by 2030, employing some 8.5 million people by the turn of the decade.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Along with being a significant driver of economic activity, tourism also happens to be a major driver of climate change, representing around 9% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions from tourism grew 3.5% each year from 2009 to 2019—largely due to air travel—more than double the rate of emissions in general (1.5%).

CONNECT THE DOTS

• You’re already familiar with another environmental implication of our tendency to vacation near the ocean: microplastics from tire wear. As we share with each of you in your Welcome Stat, 78% of ocean microplastics are synthetic tire rubber, by far the largest source of ocean microplastic pollution, ahead of plastic production pellets (18%) and textiles and personal care products (4% combined).