Environmental-Economic Accounting-Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) in Tourism

Tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries in the global economy. It influences policies and strategies of many destinations at different spatial scales. It also has a significant impact on the environment and ecosystem services (ES). This effect further impacts the sustainability of tourism and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), contributing to biodiversity loss and habitat destruction. The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting—Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) was adopted as a global statistical standard in 2021, providing a comprehensive framework for integrating physical and monetary ecosystem accounts to support sustainable management and informed policy and development. This mini-review aimed to summarise and synthesise existing research and emphasise new developments in the use of SEEA-EA for the governance and planning of the tourism industry. We highlighted the key components of SEEA-EA (ecosystem extent, condition, services and asset valuation) relevant to tourism. The limited scope of existing tourism studies was evident in their primary focus on ES valuation and a restricted geographical scale. We further emphasise the potential for interoperability between SEEA-EA, tourism statistics, and the SDGs. The review underscores the current lack of data harmonisation across frameworks and the scarcity of data at the destination level. Despite its limitations, the SEEA-EA integration offers an opportunity to quantify the costs and benefits of tourism and to support monitoring of the SDGs. Prospective applications include utilising SEEA-EA at destination scale for management, enhancing the valuation of the travel & tourism sector’s environmental costs and economic benefits, and addressing gaps in tourism statistics. To advance sustainable tourism through effective adoption of the SEEA-EA, it requires enhanced data quality, increased institutional capacity, and global collaboration.