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Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, global air transport demand was expected to triple between 2020 and 2050. The pandemic, which reduced global air travel significantly, provides an opportunity to discuss the scale, distribution and growth of aviation until 2018, also with a view to consider the climate change implications of a return to volume growth. Industry statistics, data provided by supranational organizations, and national surveys are evaluated to develop a pre-pandemic understanding of air transport demand at global, regional, national and individual scales. Results suggest that the share of the world's population travelling by air in 2018 was 11%, with at most 4% taking international flights. Data also supports that a minor share of air travelers is responsible for a large share of warming: The percentile of the most frequent fliers - at most 1% of the world population likely accounts for more than half of the total emissions from passenger air travel. Individual users of private aircraft can contribute to emissions of up to 7,500 t CO2 per year. Findings are specifically relevant with regard to the insight that a large share of global aviation emissions is not covered by policy agreements.

Disease outbreaks and pandemics have long played a role in societal and economic change. However, the nature of such change is selective, meaning that it is sometimes minimal and, at other times, and change or transformation may be unexpected, potentially even reinforcing contemporary paradigms. A comprehensive overview of pandemics and their effects is provided. This is used to help contextualise the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on tourism and government, industry and consumer response. Drawing on the available literature, factors that will affect tourism and destination recovery are then identified. Some measures will continue or even expand present growth orientations in tourism while others may contribute to sustainability. It is concluded that that the selective nature of the effects of COVID-19 and the measures to contain it may lead to reorientation of tourism in some cases, but in others will contribute to policies reflecting the selfish nationalism of some countries. However, the response to planetary limits and sustainable tourism requires a global approach. Despite clear evidence of this necessity, the possibility for a comprehensive transformation of the tourism system remains extremely limited without a fundamental transformation of the entire planet.

This paper discusses the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to reconsider the foundations of the global aviation system. There is much evidence that air transport creates opportunities as well as risks. While the former accrue to businesses and individuals, risks are imposed on society. Pandemics, in which aviation has a role as a vector of pathogen distribution, as well as the sector's contribution to climate change are examples of long-standing negative externalities that continue to be ignored in assessments of aviation's economic performance and societal importance. As commercial aviation has shown limited economic resilience throughout its history, this short paper questions whether a return to business-as-usual, supported by very significant State aid payments, is desirable. The volume growth model championed by industry and aviation proponents may have to be replaced with an alternative model of a slimmed air transport system that is economically less vulnerable and accounting for its environmental impacts.

Transport is frequently cited as one of the most expedient means by which humankind affects Earth's ecosystem. Indeed, as underscored by the Anthropocene proposition, transport-related impacts are significant to the point of resulting in alterations of the planet's geological structure. Rising awareness of such issues has led to increasing attention on the priority of achieving a radically decarbonised transport future. However, that vision stands in stark contrast to the aspirations of pro-space advocates who are in the process of initiating an alternate transport future facilitated by greatly increased - and highly carbon-intensive - access to outer space. This rapidly emerging 'beyond Earth' transport paradigm enormously expands the spatio-temporal boundaries of human transport and human impact. This article reviews prominent visions of desirable 'terrestrial' (Earth-bound) transport futures. We then critically consider the transport futures envisioned by advocates of space development. This enables us to construct a dialectics of two coexisting but sharply contrasting contemporary schools of thought. We identify a highly significant divide, with one set of discourses arguing for reigning in human influence while the other set seeks unfettered expansion. Our analysis indicates fundamental divergences in the assumptions and aims of terrestrial versus space-focussed transport discourses. We conclude that the largely unrecognised and unacknowledged tensions between these contrasting desirable transport futures will be difficult to resolve.

Air travel is predicted to grow over the coming decades contributing to carbon emissions. Airlines have offered voluntary carbon offsetting for over a decade, yet less than 10% of air travellers purchase them. Previous studies ignore the broader policy or social context of sustainable transport and aviation offsetting. In a natural experiment, a panel of the same Australian residents was tracked over a three-year period before and after the historic COP21. A novel hierarchical model was also tested using Partial Least Squares SEM. Although behaviour specific attitudes and social norms were more influential at encouraging aviation carbon offsetting, global policy knowledge and effectiveness of climate change policies play an important role. Although no changes in ratings were detected over a three-year period, the effect of social norms on encouraging aviation offsetting became stronger in later years. Implications and future research directions to better understand the political and social context of carbon offsetting and sustainable transport are provided.

Tourist pressure on local populations, also termed 'overtourism', has received much attention in the global media, as tensions related to social, economic or environmental change have grown in many destinations. While protests against tourists and tourism development have existed for decades, these are now often more organised, vocal, and politically active. As a phenomenon associated with residents' negative views of tourism development outcomes, socio-psychological foundations of overtourism have so far been insufficiently considered. This paper summarises the historical background on crowding and attitudes of residents to tourism, to then discuss social psychological theories connected to place change in order to explain anti-tourism sentiment.

'Flight shame' describes an unease about the climate implications of air travel, and bears evidence of a change in social norms that have so far associated flying with social status. This paper discusses whether Fridays for Future demonstrations and ensuing flight shame have influenced social norms regarding the desirability of air travel, and whether this is measurable in a decline in air travel, or policy support for measures curbing emissions from aviation. These aspects are discussed on the basis of German flight statistics and an online panel survey (n = 1002) conducted in August 2019 in Germany. Results show that, against a background of falling domestic air transport demand, respondents do not report a significant change in travel behaviour. However, a two-third majority of respondents indicate support for market-based measures increasing the cost of flying, as well as policies forcing airlines to reduce emissions and legislation abolishing subsidies. These findings point at an ongoing change in social norms, which could be reinforced if policymakers took advantage of public support for ambitious climate policies. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Throughout the world, cities seek to ease transport-related problems of congestion, air pollution, noise, and traffic injuries. Urban transport planners have welcomed e-scooters as an alternative to motorized individual transport, specifically the car. The public has met e-scooters with both enthusiasm and scepticism, as cities have struggled with unforeseen outcomes such as forms of irresponsible riding, cluttering, or vandalism. This paper investigates the challenges associated with the introduction of e-scooters in ten major cities, based on a content analysis of local media reports. News items (n = 173) were identified through Internet searches and include print media, TV and radio websites. Concerns prior to and after the introduction of e-scooters are assessed, analysed, and interpreted in the context of new policies for this transport mode. Results suggest that many cities have moved through trial and error stages in their search for appropriate legislation. The paper concludes that it is prudent for urban planners to introduce policies regarding maximum speeds, mandatory use of bicycle infrastructure, and dedicated parking, as well as to limit the number of licensed operators. Where negative public opinion can be averted, e-scooters stand a chance to become a disruptive niche innovation with the potential to transform urban transport systems.

Sustainability, digitalization, demographic change, and health are some of the most important megatrends in the tourism sector. The contributions in this chapter, therefore, focus on their relevance in the context of luxury travel. Four authors have their say, based on their many years of practical experience in the various fields, who can give a profound account of the specific characteristics of these megatrends and why they are relevant. Stefan Gössling concisely describes from a human ecological perspective whether luxury tourism is compatible with the sustainable use of resources and ecosystems. Marc Aeberhard discusses in his contribution whether the immaterial part of the phenomenon of luxury is compatible with the demands for more and more digitalization. Jörg Meurer vividly demonstrates how demographic change is creating new target groups for luxury and premium brands and how these target groups are gaining a completely new and exciting relevance. Finally, Mario Krause places the aspect of health as an immaterial factor in relation to luxury (and travel), setting an important accent as a counterpoint to the ubiquitous phenomenon of wellness.

Cost-benefit-analyses (CBA) are widely used to assess transport projects. Comparing various CBA frameworks, this paper concludes that the range of parameters considered in EU transport CBA is limited. A comprehensive list of criteria is presented, and unit costs identified. These are used to calculate the external and private cost of automobility, cycling and walking in the European Union. Results suggest that each kilometer driven by car incurs an external cost of (sic)0.11, while cycling and walking represent benefits of (sic)0.18 and (sic)0.37 per kilometer. Extrapolated to the total number of passenger kilometers driven, cycled or walked in the European Union, the cost of automobility is about (sic)500 billion per year. Due to positive health effects, cycling is an external benefit worth (sic)24 billion per year and walking (sic)66 billion per year. CBA frameworks in the EU should be widened to better include the full range of externalities, and, where feasible, be used comparatively to better understand the consequences of different transport investment decisions.

Cruises are one of the fastest growing and most energy-intense tourism segments, accounting for significant emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as air pollutants such as nitrous oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM2.5). International measures to limit the sector's environmental impacts have so far had no significant effects. This highlights the importance of national, regional or port-specific policies, as implemented or in planning by countries such as Norway. In order to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of such policies, it is necessary to better understand emissions. This paper models the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), NOx and PM2.5 emitted at sea and in port in Norwegian waters. Results show that 81 cruise ships of various sizes sailed Norwegian waters in 2017, consuming 129,798 t of fuel and emitting 0.4 Mt of CO2, as well as 7184 t of NOx and 132 t of PM2.5. About 14.6% of these pollutants are deposited in ports, particularly Bergen, Oslo and Stavanger. Findings also confirm considerable differences in the environmental performance of cruise ships, and can be used to design maritime policies forcing cruise operators to introduce cleaner technologies and to rethink operational practices.

Climate change will have far-reaching consequence for the future of tourism. A Climate Change Vulnerability Index for Tourism (CVIT) comprised of 27 indicators provides a transparent and systematic first analysis of the differential vulnerability of the tourism sector in 181 countries. Countries with the lowest vulnerability are found in western and northern Europe, central Asia, Canada and New Zealand. High sector vulnerability is found in Africa, Middle East, South Asia and Small Island Developing States. Vulnerability is highest in many countries where tourism represents the largest proportion of GDP and regions where tourism growth is expected to be the strongest over the coming decades. Climate change will pose an increasing barrier to tourism contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals.