Research on the Carbon Footprint of Rural Tourism Based on Life Cycle Assessment: A Case Study of a Village in Guangdong, China

Jiajia Wan, Pengkai Wang, Mengqi Wang, Yi Huang () and Jiwen Luo ()
Additional contact information
Jiajia Wan: School of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Pengkai Wang: School of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Mengqi Wang: School of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Yi Huang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Jiwen Luo: School of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-28

Abstract: In the context of China’s “dual carbon” goals and rural revitalization strategy, scientifically assessing the carbon footprint of rural tourism is essential for promoting the sustainable development of the tourism sector. This study presents the first case analysis of the rural tourism carbon footprint in Guangdong Province, using Village B as a representative example. A tourism carbon footprint model for village B was developed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. Based on empirical survey data, the tourism carbon footprint of Village B in 2024 was estimated at 7731.23 t, with a per capita carbon footprint of 38.656 kg/p/a. Among the contributing sectors, transportation accounted for the largest share (85.18%), followed by catering (6.93%) and accommodation (5.10%). As an ecotourism-oriented rural destination, Village B exhibited a relatively low carbon footprint from recreational activities. To facilitate the low-carbon transition of rural tourism in the study area and accelerate progress toward the “dual carbon” targets, it is recommended to optimize public transport infrastructure, promote green mobility, enhance the energy efficiency of rural dining and accommodation, and raise awareness of low-carbon tourism.

Keywords: rural tourism; carbon footprint; life cycle assessment; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6495/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6495/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:14:p:6495-:d:1702510

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().