Blue Skies, Carbon Shadows: Current Research and Future Directions on Tourism Emissions

This study conducts a dual-database review of tourism carbon emission research by integrating literature from the Web of Science (WoS) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). The results indicate that: (1) tourism carbon emission research has gradually evolved from exploratory studies into multi-method, multi-scale, and policy-oriented investigations, with international and Chinese scholarship exhibiting both distinctive trajectories and increasing convergence; (2) existing studies primarily focus on key themes including the carbon source–sink–offset system of tourism emissions, carbon emission measurement and accounting, efficiency and performance evaluation, driving factors and spatial effects, as well as mitigation pathways and carbon neutrality scenarios, while limited attention has been paid to cross-scale mechanism integration, micro-level behavioral explanations, and policy feedback assessment; (3) within the Chinese context, tourism carbon emission research has become increasingly intertwined with carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, regional coordinated development, and digital transformation agendas, yet comprehensive theoretical frameworks and operational policy instruments remain underdeveloped. Future research directions are proposed, emphasizing integrated multi-scale modeling, firm- and tourist-level behavioral mechanisms, and policy coordination pathways aligned with carbon peaking and carbon neutrality governance objectives, with the aim of advancing low-carbon transition and sustainability-oriented development in the tourism sector.