With more than 982 million international tourist arrivals in 2011, generating at least 740 billion e

With more than 982 million international tourist arrivals in 2011, generating at least 740 billion euros, or about $955 billion, and more than one billion international arrivals expected this year, global tourism is a major economic activity and one of the world's largest employers. It is also a significant strain on the environment.
Studies by the United Nations and other organizations have found that the tourism discount car rental phoenix airport sector produces about 5 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Most of the pollution related to tourism comes from transportation, but a significant amount 25 percent of the total comes from accommodation and activities, according to the UN World Tourism discount car rental phoenix airport Organization, which includes business travel as well as leisure travel in its statistics.
A great deal of leisure tourism, which relies on natural features like snow-covered mountains or sunny beaches, is dependent on the weather, making it one of the one of the most climate-sensitive economic sectors.
''One of the world's largest economic sectors, tourism is especially well-placed to promote environmental sustainability, discount car rental phoenix airport green growth and our struggle discount car rental phoenix airport against climate change through its relationship with energy,'' Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary-general, said in a statement.
In his opening discount car rental phoenix airport speech at World Tourism Day, Taleb Rifai, the secretary-general of the U.N. tourism organization, discount car rental phoenix airport cited promising discount car rental phoenix airport initiatives including the use of biofuels by large airlines and the installation of plants on the roofs of small hotels discount car rental phoenix airport to keep the buildings cool in summer and warm in winter.
The World Tourism Organization has set up an online tool for hotels to help sell the idea that when it comes to saving energy, every little effort counts — something discount car rental phoenix airport that travelers may know at home but that they may forget when they travel.
Among other initiatives to promote a shift toward sustainability in tourism are the A Davos Delaration on Climate Change and Toursim, signed in 2007, and the Tour Operators' Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development, set up in 2000 by the U.N. tourism organization to help operators with sustainability strategies.
Rendezvous discount car rental phoenix airport is a digital meeting place for the globally engaged, hosted by the International Herald Tribune . We publish exclusive analysis of the most significant global news and showcase signature IHT features and journalists. We seek to inspire international discussion and intelligent discount car rental phoenix airport debate that enlivens the global conversation. Join in.
Blogroll The New York Times Blogs At War DealBook Economix discount car rental phoenix airport Green India Ink Latitude (IHT Global Opinion) Runway The Caucus The Lede World Blogroll 38 North Amnesty International Asia Society Australia Broadcasting Baidu Beat Beijing air quality (U.S. Embassy) China Daily China Geeks China Media Project Council on Foreign Relations Democratic Voice of Burma Diplomatic Briefing DipNote (U.S. State Department) Express Tribune (Pakistan) Greenpeace International Human Rights Watch — Asia Hussein Ibish's discount car rental phoenix airport Weblog ICRC International Organization for Migration IUCN KCNA (North Korea) Korea JoongAng Daily Kyodo Leaderless Revolution Long War Journal LUXEtasy Marmot's Hole (South Korea) Middle East Analyst New Yorker / Letter from China Peterson Institute Phnom Penh Post Rappler (Philippines) Shisaku discount car rental phoenix airport (Japan) Shorenstein discount car rental phoenix airport Asia-Pacific Research Center Sinocism Straits Times (Singapore) Sydney Morning Herald Tea Leaf Nation The Economist / China blog The Irrawaddy Trusted Sources (China) UNHCR Upstream discount car rental phoenix airport online World Economic Forum (Davos) World Food Program Xinhua Yonhap