Inbound Tourism Transport and Carbon Emissions in Serbia: Insights into Sustainable Tourism Improvement

Research Question: What are the implications of the carbon footprint generated by foreign tourist transport in Serbia for sustainable tourism planning? Motivation: Low-carbon tourism is an important way for the tourism industry to achieve the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals and the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Previous research amply deals with the carbon footprint, but most research is focused on countries where tourism is developed. There are not many papers on the topic of carbon footprint in Serbia, so we considered this kind of research could be an important contribution. Idea: The idea is to analyze and quantify the carbon footprint caused by the transportation of foreign tourists in Serbia. The research is based on available data regarding the distribution and characteristics of foreign tourist arrivals in Serbia, with an analysis of regional differences between Belgrade, southeastern, northern, and west-central Serbia. Data: Using official tourism statistics, data on distances travelled, and recognized emission factors, this research quantifies the CO₂ emissions derived from air, road, and rail transport (1,213,835 tons of CO2 in total in 2023). The methodology includes spatial analysis of tourist arrivals that are spread across four different Serbian regions: Belgrade, Northern (Vojvodina) represented by Novi Sad, Central-Western represented by Zlatibor, and South-Eastern Serbia represented by Niš. The methodology considers short-haul destinations and long-haul destinations too. Tools: The descriptive statistics are use to present data, and also OpenStreetMap contributors and the GIS use to display the data on the map. Findings: In general, it is shown that air travel is the main contributor to emissions from intercontinental markets, particularly the USA and China. These destinations contribute significantly to most emissions: regional road travel also produces significant emissions for the tourists moving to different destinations after they enter the country. This shows that Belgrade is the centre for foreign tourists and hosts most emissions, while growing environmental pressure occurs in inland tourism centers such as Zlatibor and Niš. Importantly, this is in line with the promotion of low-carbon alternatives like rail to put tourists under lower pressure of emissions in their destination regions by optimizing tourist flows and enabling increasingly longer stays of tourists. Contribution: Hence, this research will give directions on the effective application of national tourism with environmental policy, also requesting integrated strategies linking the growth of tourism with Serbia’s sustainability commitments and global climate goals. It sets a basis for further studies and planning adjustment toward a more sustainable, low-carbon tourism sector.