Carbon emissions from tourism are rising disproportionately fast
The industry is failing to make itself greener

Tourists have been getting a lot of flak recently. Venice has started charging €5 ($5.30) for day-trippers and limits the size of tour groups. Rome is considering a €2 fee to see the Trevi fountain. New Zealand has upped fees for visitors.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Vexing visits”

From the December 14th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
An interstellar object is cruising through the solar system
Its appearance puts a new branch of astronomy to the test

RFK junior wants to ban an ingredient in vaccines. Is he right?
Studies show that thimerosal does more good than harm

AI is helping to design proteins from scratch
They could treat diseases, test drugs and boost crop yields
A new project aims to synthesise a human chromosome
The tools developed along the way could revolutionise medicine
How sea slugs give themselves superpowers
Their slimy shenanigans might have applications for humans, too
Is being bilingual good for your brain?
Perhaps. Learning languages offers other, more concrete benefits