Quantifying GHG Emissions of Korean Domestic Tourism: Spend-Based Multiregional EEIO Approach to Category 6 of Scope 3

Tourism is a fast-growing sector that generates a significant greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint, yet subnational data needed to measure the sector remain scarce. Quantifying tourism-related emissions is essential for effective climate policy and alignment with international targets. This study contributes to quantifying tourism sector GHG emissions using the 2023 Korean National Travel Survey data and a spend-based environmentally extended input–output (EEIO) model. Expenditure data were mapped onto the 33-sector multiregional EEIO framework, estimating a total of 2623 tCO2eq emissions by region, expenditure type, and industry sector in 2023, where about 73% of the total was attributed to tourism-related sectors with the sample data, 24,282. The results illustrate how tourism emissions are shaped especially by transportation systems and regional context. Provinces that surround metropolitan cities in the mainland, for example, Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces near Seoul and Incheon, and Gyeongnam Province neighboring Busan and Ulsan, record higher emissions due to large travel volumes from these metropolitan cities and energy-intensive transportation services. Jeju Island stands out as an outlier, with disproportionately high emissions relative to its size, driven by reliance on aviation, which significantly raises its per-visitor footprint. Sectoral analysis identified transportation services, agriculture, electricity, and gas as key sectors. By providing detailed provincial-level data, this study offers a first empirical foundation to corporate Category 6 of Scope 3 reporting and supports central and local governments in designing region-specific climate strategies associated with tourism-related sectors.