Project Description
The increase in air travel, especially in tourism, has led to a policy debate on the economic importance of the aviation sector and the environmental impacts of it (Broër, 2006). In the Netherlands, this debate consists of mainly two parties: the aviation sector who desires expansion and environmentalists who want to reduce the negative impacts. Technology is presented as one of the pillars on which the government and the industry focus on. This thesis aims to expose the power relations of the Dutch aviation sector by performing a critical discourse analysis on the case of the Dutch aviation-induced climate debate where technological innovation is the discursive object. Three patterns were identified accordingly: 1) technological innovation as the main solution to sustainable aviation; 2) technological innovation as a tool to exert influence; 3) technological innovation as a tool to get expansion. From this can be concluded that there is an overall feeling of major optimism towards technology, however, its practicability is often overestimated.
Author: L. Michon
Lianne Michon was awarded second place on the TUI-CELTH Sustainable Tourism Thesis Award! She won in her own category for Environmental Sustainability with her thesis about The Perception of Technological Innovation in the Dutch Aviation-induced Climate debate. It is a great contribution to sustainability as one of our serious topics in Tourism education.
