Interventions to support tourism and its impact on air quality - a case study of the Go To Travel Campaign in Japan. (Special Issue: COVID-19 and historical pandemics part 2.)

ABSTRACT

The effects of COVID-19 measures on the quantitative changes in atmospheric substances associated with economic activities have been explored in various studies. However, the specific relationship between the changes in economic activities due to government interventions and the associated changes in atmospheric substances remains unclear. This relationship needs to be understood in detail, especially in the tourism industry where conflicting responses are needed, such as promoting people flow and socioeconomic development while adopting measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Therefore, this study focused on the tourism industry in Japan, used Google Earth Engine to calculate the changes in five atmospheric substances before and during the government's Go To Travel Campaign, which was implemented to support domestic travel, and analyzed the correlations with statistical data such as the number of travelers, use of buses, and taxis. As a result, a series of connected behaviors clarified the fact that socioeconomic activities affected by the government's Go To Travel Campaign surfaced with the changes in the atmospheric substances. To further understand the relationship between interventions to promote tourism and air quality, additional datasets and approaches are needed, including data on the operation status of facilities and the behavioral characteristics of Japanese travelers.