Evaluation of the environmental costs of tourism based on an emergy analysis of tourism waste disposal: a case study of Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon National Park in Motuo County, Tibet.

Eco-tourism has become increasingly popular in the postmodern era. However, the management of tourism waste remains a major challenge for tourist destinations worldwide. Here, a non-participatory survey was conducted in five famous scenic spots in Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon National Park in Motuo County, Tibet, to characterize the waste composition and the amount of average daily production per capita during sightseeing. In addition, interviews were conducted at 26 restaurants and 32 hotels in Motuo Town (the administrative center of Motuo County), and data on the composition and amount of average daily production per capita of waste generated by tourists during accommodation and meals were obtained. The total amount of tourism waste in Motuo County in 2018 was approximately 172,108.82 kg. Based on the data collected, an emergy analysis was applied to emergy calculations of the pollution and losses generated during two conventional and locally used tourism waste disposal methods. According to China's emergy to money ratio (EMR) of 2018, the emergy was converted into its monetary value. The theoretical ecological compensation standard for Motuo County was 4,293,568.99 CNY (equivalent to 648,830.20 USD), and the average ticket price for a single tourist was 18.87 CNY (equivalent to 2.85 USD) in the absence of government fiscal transfer payments. These findings should be utilized by local national park authorities to establish a market-oriented ecological compensation mechanism that is capable of alleviating environmental pressure.