Sustainable Tourism in a Low Carbon Economy: The Clark Freeport Zone Case

• Main Author: Villanueva, Francisco L, Jr
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2015
• Subjects: Tourism and Travel
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/gsb-pubs/46; http://gsb.ateneo.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/op_no_12_-_sustainable_tourism_in_a_low_carbon_economy.pdf
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

For the sake of human survival, a low-carbon economy (LCE) has become an urgent solution to address climate change. As tourism has had a high growth rate for the last few decades and has become one of the world’s most important industries, it is now necessary to assess the relationship between tourism and climate change as well as explore how tourism can be developed in a low-carbon economy. This paper will attempt to address these issues and see how they can apply in the case of the Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ). Inputs will come from a review of related literature, interviews with key players from the tourism sector and Clark Development Corporation (CDC)---the administrative body of the CFZ---and examinations of CDC’s corporate records. Based on initial estimates made by the author, it appears that the CFZ has a disproportionate share of the country’s carbon footprint and may need to make extraordinary efforts to address this.