Promoting Low-Carbon Choices in Philippine Tourism: A Policy Guide for Industry Leaders and Government
Promoting Low-Carbon Choices in Philippine
Tourism: A Policy Guide for Industry Leaders
and Government
Written by:
Duvince Zhalimar J. Dumpit, Dr. Ringgold P. Atienza
College of Management, University of the Philippines Visayas
Department of Decision Sciences and Innovation, RVR-College of Business DLSU-Manila
Introduction
The Philippine tourism sector faces a critical sustainability challenge as post-pandemic tourism activity has rebounded, accompanied by a substantial increase in tourismrelated carbon dioxide emissions. Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (2024) Tourism Satellite Accounts and environmental accounts, tourism-related CO2 emissions increased from 3,922 gigagrams (Gg) in 2022 to 8,034 Gg in 2023. This measure refers to CO2 emissions associated with tourism’s energy demand and transport-related activities, rather than emissions directly measured from individual tourist trips or verified booking behavior. Although tourism remains vital to the Philippine economy, its energy- and transport-intensive activities require policy and business attention to support lower emission choices.
The increasing prevalence of digital booking platforms in the Philippine tourism sector presents a significant opportunity to embed behavioral interventions at the point of travel decision making, where travelers compare transport, accommodation, dining, and activity options. These digital choice environments can shape how sustainability information is noticed, understood, and acted upon during booking decisions. One promising approach is green digital nudging, which refers to subtle design interventions that guide travelers toward sustainable choices without restricting their freedom of choice (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008).
Green digital nudges, such as eco-labels, sustainability badges, and visual cues, are embedded in digital choice environments to encourage more environmentally friendly decisions. Our research finds that Filipino travelers express strong environmental concern. However, a persistent value-action gap prevents these values from consistently translating into lower-carbon choices, even within a simulated booking environment. Many travelers intend to make green choices but are deterred by cognitive overload, a perceived lack of control, or a lack of clear, simplified information at the point of booking. Although green digital nudges show promise as a practical, relatively low-cost, and potentially scalable behavioral complement to broader sustainability efforts once integrated into existing digital platforms (Berger et al., 2020; Schürmann et al., 2023), their effectiveness depends on nudge design, decision context, structural support mechanisms, and travelers’ environmental consciousness (Dumpit, 2026).
Environmental concern alone does not automatically lead to lower-carbon travel choices. Digital architecture can help, but only when sustainable choices are simple, credible, and genuinely available. This brief outlines how green digital nudges can subtly influence decision-making by simplifying sustainable booking choices, piloting socially and culturally relevant interventions, and building an enabling environment for credible and ethical nudging.
CBRD DLSU POLICY BRIEFS | Download Paper
