Carbon-Neutral Destinations: A Comparative Analysis of Decarbonization Strategies in Southeast Asian Island Tourism
Keywords:
carbon-neutral destinations, decarbonization, Southeast Asian islands, GHG inventory, tourism climate policy, destination managementAbstract
The tourism sector's contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has emerged as a defining challenge for sustainable destination management, with island destinations facing particularly acute decarbonization pressures owing to transport-dependence, fragile energy systems, and tightly bounded ecosystems. While carbon-neutral destination commitments have proliferated since 2022, comparative empirical evidence on the actual strategy architectures deployed across Southeast Asian islands remains scarce. This study aims to compare decarbonization strategies across four Southeast Asian island destinations — Bali (Indonesia), Boracay (Philippines), Koh Samui (Thailand), and Langkawi (Malaysia) — to identify patterns, asymmetries, and structural enablers of effective carbon-neutral pathways. A concurrent mixed-methods design was adopted, combining (i) a destination-scale GHG inventory using activity-data and emission-factor methods aligned with IPCC 2019 Refinement and GSTC carbon-management guidance, (ii) policy and strategy document analysis of 67 official and corporate documents, and (iii) 32 semi-structured interviews with destination managers, energy-sector stakeholders, tourism operators, and civil-society representatives, conducted between January and February 2026. Findings reveal that destinations cluster into three strategy archetypes: infrastructure-first(Bali, Langkawi), carrying-capacity-first (Boracay), and operator-led (Koh Samui), each generating distinct emission-trajectory profiles and institutional vulnerabilities. None of the four destinations are on track to meet their stated carbon-neutral targets under current policy settings. The study introduces the Island Decarbonization Strategy Architecture(IDSA) framework, which classifies and diagnoses strategy mixes against a five-domain emission-driver structure. Implications are drawn for SDGs 7, 11, 12, 13, and 14.
Keywords: carbon-neutral destinations; decarbonization; Southeast Asian islands; GHG inventory; tourism climate policy; destination management
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