The Responsible Tourism in Southern Savo project
“For the future of tourism in the region, it was necessary to outline the ecological, economic and socio-cultural impacts that tourism can have. In order to minimize the negative effects and maximize the benefits, indicators and commonly agreed guidelines for promoting sustainability are needed.”
Read more about the project (in Finnish)
The project also developed a counter for calculating the regional carbon footprint of tourism. It was used to calculate the carbon footprint of tourism in South Savo. The total carbon footprint in 2017 was 274 kt CO2e. Emissions per tourist were 120 kg CO2e and per leisure resident 425 kg CO2e. Studies showed that tourists shared for 69% and leisure residents for 31% of the carbon footprint. Most (about half) of the emissions came from the travels of tourists and leisure residents. Emissions which form in the area were mostly from accommodation. Tourism carbon footprint is calculated every two years and its done by Regional Council of South Savo.
The carbon footprint of the South Savo region can be viewed here:
Matkailun alueelinen hiilijalanjälkilaskuri_Etelä-Savo (Excel) – in Finnish/Riina Tuominen, University of Applied Sciences of South-Eastern Finland (Xamk), 2019
The project also updated the carbon footprint counter for companies, which was developed from the previous project ‘’Responsible Tourism in South Savo’’ (2016). Companies can take advantage of the carbon footprint indicator for monitoring and striving to reduce it. Saimaa Geopark wants to promote the responsibility of tourism by raising awareness among companies throughout the geopark region.
You can find the carbon foot counter (Excel) from the link below.