A travel firm has warned that international holidays could be restricted with the use of carbon passports as global temperatures continue to rise.
Drastic measures like "personal carbon allowances" could be introduced as a way of reducing emissions and protecting popular tourist destinations from "extinction".
The warning comes from a report by Intrepid Travel which predicts that limitations on the amount of international travel allowed each year could be brought in by 2040.
The report stated: “These allowances will manifest as passports that force people to ration their carbon in line with the global carbon budget, which is 750 billion tonnes until 2050.
Intrepid Travel predicts carbon passports could limit international travel to reduce emissions
Intrepid Travel claimed that travellers could be “forced to forgo the horizon-expanding experiences so readily embraced by today’s tourists”.
Conducted in partnership with foresight agency, The Future Laboratory, the report warned that frequented tourist spots like Majorca and Greece could become too hot for many people to enjoy summer holidays.
This could prompt a switch to cooler locations like Belgium, Slovenia and Poland.
It added: “At this pivotal moment in climate history, lack of action from the travel industry will see catastrophic and fatal trends continue to develop.”
The report comes after a summer of wildfires that devastated the Greek island of Rhodes among other parts of Southern Europe in July.
A cohort of people it describes as “travel transformers” will spark the emergence of “regenerative travel”, Intrepid Travel predicts.
This group of people will lead to a focus on the social and environmental impact of holidays.
Darrell Wade, co-founder and chairman of the company, said: “The direct, catastrophic impact of climate change has for too long been viewed as something distant in the future. But this is no longer an impending event; it’s happening now.
“Tourism must evolve and become regenerative, as the current model is unsustainable.
“We must recognise that the future needs to be different from business as usual, and that the climate crisis is not a competitive advantage.
“The clock is ticking for our planet and the future of the travel and tourism industry.
“There is limited time left, and immediate collective action and innovation is needed to decarbonise travel together and truly achieve the immense potential for sustainable development within our industry.”
The Future Laboratory’s Martin Raymond said: “A new era is dawning for the travel and tourism industry.
“Transient and transformative travel experiences will revolutionise the notion of leaving no trace.
“We will see hotels will be at the forefront of this extraordinary change. In the next decade we will see more now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t travel experiences popping up across the world.”
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