Has flying become the ultimate climate sin? Air travel is often cast as a scapegoat when it comes to tourism, but the numbers may tell a different story.
Only 11% of the world’s population boards a plane, and only 1% of frequent flyers are responsible for 50% of all air travel, as reported by the European Federation for Transport and Environment.
In the United States, 53% of people never fly. However, as reported by Forbes Advisor, most U.S. households (91.7%) had at least one vehicle in 2022, and 22.1% had three or more vehicles.
Globally, aviation contributes just 3% of CO₂ emissions, dwarfed by the 16% from road transport used daily by millions.
In total, tourism makes up 8%, while meat and dairy production accounts for 14.5%.
So why are travelers shamed for boarding a plane when tourism is not even the main offender? Would grounding every traveler be an absolute climate win?
Experts say that if we all stopped flying tomorrow, local economies of tourism-dependent economies and conservation efforts could nosedive. COVID-19 gave us a glimpse of this reality.
In The Cook Islands, Air Travel Is Not A Luxury, It Is A Lifeline
The Cook Islands, consisting of 15 islands, lies in the middle of the South Pacific, more than 2,000 miles from New Zealand and over 3,000 miles from Hawaii. Flying is virtually the only way in or out. This extreme remoteness makes air travel both a convenience and a lifeline for tourism, trade, healthcare and family connections.
Brad Kirner, director of destination development at Cook Islands Tourism Corporation, explained in the email interview that with tourism making up around 70% of the Cook Islands’ GDP, the border closure due to COVID-19 essentially froze the economy overnight.
When international flights stopped, entire sectors built around tourism saw their income immediately vanish. Since businesses either shut down or scaled back drastically, job losses followed quickly.
He explained that in response, governments had to roll out wage subsidies and emergency support to prevent total economic collapse. COVID-19 laid bare how deeply vulnerable its local economy is to disruptions in global air travel.
Since then, “the Cook Islands has taken steps toward economic diversification, including promoting agribusiness and digital services,” says Kirner, but he acknowledges that it will be a long-term challenge.
According to Kirner, critical conservation projects also felt the loss of funds. Yet, there were also some short-term environmental benefits. For example, less activity in the lagoons led to calmer marine conditions, and the lack of foot traffic allowed some wildlife areas to begin recovering.
“Many Cook Islanders returned to more traditional, self-sufficient ways of living such as fishing and farming. Bartering became more prominent again. Many residents took the opportunity to reconnect with their family and heritage in the outer islands (Pa Enua), which helped stimulate inter-island travel,” says Kirner.
The loss of air travel also prompted the Cook Islands to focus on high-quality, responsible tourism experiences that align with community and environmental goals and to invest more in regenerative tourism models.
Poaching Rises, Parks Struggle And Communities Turn To Survival In Africa
“In developing countries, finding the resources to protect vast parks, the size of many of Europe’s entire nations, is extremely difficult,” said David Guthrie, founder of A Tent With A View, in an email interview.
“The thought of no tourism is a terrifying one for the conservation of habitat,” he added, noting that tourism investment has long been a key strategy in protecting natural areas and stopping poaching.
He was not talking about ivory and rhino horn poaching but the simple snares set out by the locals in easily accessible, low-traffic areas. He says that authorities lack the resources to eliminate it entirely, so a certain level of illegal harvesting persists.
However, tourism acts as a powerful deterrent. When Gurthie chooses a new site for its mobile safari camp, he views the high number of snares as a good sign of dense wildlife presence. Once the camp is there, the poachers tend to disappear as the risks now outweigh the potential rewards.
Rob Boyle, founder of Emission Index, echoed this in an email interview, noting, “The reality is that tourist revenue directly supports anti-poaching patrols, park management and ranger salaries. Without this financial backing, wildlife becomes increasingly vulnerable.”
He shared a study conducted in Tanzania that analyzed the impact of a 91% decline in tourism arrivals, resulting in a revenue loss of over $100 million.
The absence of tourists combined with reduced law enforcement opened the door for poaching syndicates to expand their activities across some protected areas.
At the same time, broken supply chains and job losses pushed rural communities to rely more heavily on surrounding natural resources. With city workers and migrants returning home, many turned to hunting and other extractive livelihoods, putting additional pressure on the vulnerable wildlife populations.
Praveen Moman, founder of Volcanoes Safaris, a tour company specializing in gorilla and chimpanzee ecotourism in Uganda and Rwanda since 1997, personally witnessed the above during the lockdowns.
“The impact of the lockdown was immediate. The village had no food, but the families were desperate to eat. With few options, more people went into the forest poaching and hunting simply to survive,” he said.
He explained that, in response to the collapse in tourism, he was forced to either lay off staff with severance or retain them on reduced salaries. To help ease the pressure on both the community and local wildlife, he partnered with the German government to deliver food aid to the village.
“Humans will always have an impact even if they stay at home. Travel has existed since ancient times in the form of trade rather than leisure. It is not something anyone can stop entirely,” he said.
During our Zoom interview, he raised critical questions: How could Africa diversify its income and not rely on tourism revenue for conservation and local livelihood? Could other major industries in Africa, such as mining, logging, or agriculture, be transformed into long-term forces for positive change?
Air Travel Is Not Going Away, But Conservation Cannot Depend On Solely Tourism Forever
“A significant reduction in air travel demand is unlikely without major global disruptions, such as a pandemic. On the contrary, all indicators point toward continued growth,” said Shooka Bidarian, award-winning conservation and climate change expert, in an email interview.
She continued by saying that, “The aviation sector is focusing not on reducing travel itself, but on accelerating the development of low-and zero-emission alternatives.”
The pandemic served as a wake-up call for conservation finance, exposing the vulnerability of models overly dependent on international tourism. In response, many initiatives have begun exploring more sustainable and resilient funding mechanisms.
Bidarian pointed out the outcome-contingent financing such as the Wildlife Conservation Bond, also known as Rhino Bonds.
It is the world’s first bond that ties investor returns directly to conservation success. According to the latest evaluation report published in May 2025, the net growth rate of rhino populations is 8%, which means bondholders will be paid $91.73 per $1000 invested.
“Digital fundraising campaigns, international conservation grants and carbon offset schemes all emerged as viable options. Just like assembling furniture, relying on only one tool rarely ends well,” says Boyle.
He emphasized that conservation requires multiple strategies and income streams, including trust funds, payments for ecosystem services and partnerships with private organizations.
“While we are witnessing a growing number of projects that are diversifying income streams, ecotourism continues to be a central pillar for many conservation efforts worldwide,” said Bidarian.
