Carbon footprint gap due to international tourism in Turkiye based on tourism subsectors

From the perspective of Conferences of Parties, putting forward both sector-based and detailed thematic requirements, understanding the carbon emission mechanisms in the tourism sector and the cause of emission is of great importance for sustainable tourism policies. As a novelty, the tourism carbon capacity model for a developing country, Turkiye, is developed by considering eight tourism subsectors, and the carbon footprint (CF) is calculated separately for each subsector. The findings obtained from the Kaya carbon emission identity method show that the CF per tourist has increased by ~ 25 % from 2012 to 2022. Türkiye’s carbon emissions absorption capacity seems insufficient to overcome the risk of carbon deficit (CD) due to international tourism activity. CF in the sector mainly comes from two subsectors: food and beverage and shopping. CD in the tourism industry per capita has increased by ~ 30 % over the years. In light of these findings, expanding forest areas and vegetation with the cooperation of the government, local community, NGOs, and tourism enterprises should be a priority to reduce tourism CD. In addition, government and tourism authorities immediately enact policies and regulations that encourage international tourism suppliers to invest in reducing carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of products.