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Disney VIP mega tour set to have serious environmental impact

Disney is offering a $110,000 (£92,000/€109,000) ticket for an elite package tour that will encompass all 12 Disney resorts in six different countries. However, the additional cost is the impact on the planet.

The carbon price tag of the tour is 6.2 tonnes of emissions for each guest. This is 20 times more than a person produces in a low-income country for an entire year.

Disney has limited the 24-day adventure to 75 guests, who will travel to 12 Disney resorts in six countries on three different continents. Customers will travel VIP-style on a Boeing 757, accompanied by Disney staff.

Passengers will begin in Los Angeles in July 2023 and will travel onwards to San Francisco, Tokyo via Anchorage, Shanghai and Hong Kong, then Agra in India, Cairo and Paris before finishing up in Orlando, Florida.

According to a report from the Guardian, the clean transport group Transport & Environment (T&E) estimated the 19,600-mile (31,500km) journey would emit a total of 462 tonnes of carbon dioxide. This equates to 6.2 tonnes for each paying guest.

Data from the World Bank in 2019 demonstrated that CO2 emissions per capita in a low-income country were just 0.3 tonnes. The average annual carbon footprint globally was 4.5 tonnes per capita.

A Disney spokesperson told the Guardian that the company had a “long commitment to protecting the planet”.

“Our investments in these projects also prioritise providing co-benefits like conserving habitat for wildlife, creating jobs, protecting water resources, and reducing impacts from floods and soil erosion,” the spokesperson added.

Image: Taylor R on Unsplash