The 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference has been under way in Antalya since 9 November. Until 20 November, countries are discussing the implementation of the Paris Agreement, climate adaptation and climate finance. The conference raises a question with particular relevance to this holiday hub on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast: how can the economic benefits of tourism be weighed against its emissions and the growing pressures caused by the impacts of climate change?
A robust answer requires more than a figure for CO₂ emissions. It must show which revenues and jobs tourism supports, where emissions arise and how heat, water scarcity and extreme weather affect communities, nature and infrastructure.
One sector, many connections
Tourism is not a single industry that can simply be read off a set of statistics. It connects accommodation, food and drink services, transport, retail, leisure activities and suppliers. According to the OECD, tourism directly accounted for 5.1 per cent of Turkey’s total gross value added in 2024; tourism-related employment represented 3.7 per cent of all jobs. These are national figures, not an assessment for Antalya.
For Germany, the Federal Statistical Office has developed a method through its Tourism Satellite Account for the Economy and the Environment to examine tourism expenditure, value added, employment, energy consumption and emissions within a single, integrated framework. For 2021, it records tourism’s direct share of gross value added at 2.2 per cent and its share of employment at 4.4 per cent. Its share of domestic greenhouse gas emissions was 1.4 per cent. The data series covers 2015 to 2021; the pandemic had a particularly strong influence on the final two years.
This German account provides a methodological comparison, not an estimate for Antalya. It also demonstrates why travel to and from a destination belongs in the debate: transport services caused around a third of tourism-related emissions within Germany in 2021. For international flights, only the section of the route within Germany was included; tourist journeys by private car were not included in the calculation. An assessment can therefore produce significantly different results depending on its geographical scope and the modes of transport covered.
What a destination assessment would need to show
Antalya would need local data: for example, on energy and water consumption in accommodation, waste and wastewater, transport to and from holiday resorts, and seasonal visitor numbers. Economic indicators would also be needed, alongside an examination of who benefits from tourism revenues and who bears the costs of infrastructure, utilities and nature conservation. Without consistent boundaries and transparent methods, meaningful comparisons between such measures are difficult.
Antalya’s municipal administration publishes a greenhouse gas inventory with 2019 as its baseline year. It covers the province and is not limited to tourism. The municipal adaptation plan identifies high and rapidly changing temperatures, water resources, flooding and soil erosion among its areas for action. This shows that climate policy at a destination cannot stop at the energy supply for hotels: urban planning, transport, agriculture and the protection of green spaces and coastal areas are also part of the picture.
Adaptation is part of the assessment
Tourism contributes to climate change and is also affected by it. Longer periods of heat can alter visitor stays and working conditions; drought puts greater pressure on water supplies. The World Bank describes water stress in Turkey as varying by region and points to additional demand from economic activities such as tourism and agriculture. This makes water a shared resource: for households, agriculture, nature and businesses.
A comprehensive assessment would therefore need to distinguish between two tasks while considering them together. Climate mitigation asks how emissions can be reduced – for example, through more efficient buildings, renewable energy and lower-emission travel to destinations. Adaptation asks how places can deal with impacts that are already being felt or are expected, for example through water-saving systems, protection against heat, resilient infrastructure and the protection of floodplains. Both require measurable targets and regular data.
COP31 negotiates global commitments; it does not produce a complete tourism assessment for Antalya. But the conference venue makes clear the criteria against which such an assessment would need to be judged: not just visitor numbers or revenues, but also emissions, resource consumption, the distribution of benefits and the region’s resilience. For Antalya, the sources reviewed provide individual building blocks, but as yet no up-to-date, integrated account for tourism.
Original reviewed by the editors · 11 November 2026
