Project Details
Holidays at home: Analysis of the footprint of non-travellers during their holidays
Applicant
Professor Dr. Jürgen Schmude
Subject Area
Human Geography
Term
since 2022
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 509466359
This new project proposal follows the 24-month DFG-funded project "Holidays at home: Analysis of the activities of non-travellers during their holidays and the resulting economic effects for their region of residence". In contrast to travellers, the economic, social and ecological effects that non-travellers have during their holidays are mostly unexplored. Only the current DFG project will provide insights into the activities of German non-travellers and the resulting economic effects. Social aspects of non-travelling have also already been investigated via a media analysis carried out as part of the project. It was shown that media assessments of the phenomenon of non-travelling are linked to social expectations and social events (e.g. the Covid-19 pandemic), which change over time. After the project has so far examined the economic and, in part, the social dimension of non-travel, the ecological dimension of non-travel is at the centre of interest in the third project year of this extension application. The ecological effects of non-travellers have hardly been investigated so far, although they can (potentially) contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by not travelling. It is well known that the greatest CO2 impact of travellers is generated by their arrival and departure. However, it should not be ignored that non-travellers are also in motion during their holidays and therefore generate a carbon footprint as well. The aim of this research project is therefore to investigate the footprint of non-travellers generated by their activities during their holiday and to analyse the extent to which it differs from the footprint of travellers. The focus is on the extent to which non-travellers can contribute to a reduction in the carbon footprint. In addition, the spatial distribution of the carbon footprints of travellers and non-travellers, as well as potential factors (e.g. activity types, socio-demographic characteristics) that affect the level of emissions, are examined. In order to carry out a systematic comparison of the carbon footprints, two samples are used, one allowing an analysis of the carbon footprint of non-travellers during their holiday period (this sample was collected in the current project) and the other analogously determining the footprint of travellers (this sample is generated in the extension year). This approach makes it possible to estimate the ecological implications of the phenomenon of non-travelling and to put them in relation to travellers.
DFG Programme
Research Grants