Global Climate Change And Coastal Tourism

Current climatic and environmental trends mean that a large number of important coastal destinations across the globe are under threat of change or gradual disappearance. Many of these locations are also significant tourist destinations, such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Everglades National Park or large swathes of the Mediterranean basin. Tourism activity both exacerbates the problem and highlights the importance of protecting these often fragile environments. This book discusses threats to, and consequences of, tourism growth and the impacts of climate change on such coastal zones. It examines policy initiatives, local and national options for managing the potential crisis and recommends steps and management options towards ameliorating projected impacts on coastal tourism infrastructure. This is an important book for researchers and students of leisure and tourism, land-use planning, environmental and coastal management and all those interested in and working with the environment, conservation and sustainability.

The Caribbean is the most tourism-dependent region in the world, and its tourism attractions and infrastructure and three-quarters of its people are concentrated along its coastlines. While the Caribbean contributes to less than 1 percent of global carbon emissions, its beaches and hotels are among the most vulnerable to climate impacts, including increasingly fierce and frequent hurricanes, sea-level rise, and loss of coral and mangroves. This book details many techniques for mitigating and adapting to climate impacts and demonstrates how socially and environmentally responsible companies are proving resilient in coping with climate change.

Climate change is the single most important global environmental and development issue facing the world today and has emerged as a major topic in tourism studies. Climate change is already affecting the tourism industry and is anticipated to have profound implications for tourism in the twenty-first century, including consumer holiday choices, the geographic patterns of tourism demand, the competitiveness and sustainability of destinations and the contribution of tourism to international development. Tourism and Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of the theory and practice of climate change and tourism at the tourist, enterprise, destination and global scales. Major themes include the implications of climate change and climate policy for tourism sectors and destinations around the world, tourist perceptions of climate change impacts, tourism’s global contribution to climate change, adaptation and mitigation responses by all major tourism stakeholders, and the integral links between climate change and sustainable tourism. It combines a thorough scientific assessment of the climate-tourism interrelationships with discussion of emerging mitigation and adaptation practice, showcasing international examples throughout the tourism sector as well as actions by other sectors that will have important implications for tourism. Written by three leading academics in this field, this critical contribution highlights the challenges of climate change within the tourism community and provides a foundation for decision making for both reducing the risks, and taking advantage of the opportunities, associated with climate change. This comprehensive discussion of the complexities of climate change and tourism is essential reading for students, academics, business leaders and government policy makers.

This publication contains the key proceedings and technical report of the Second International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism, held in Davos, Switzerland, 1-3 October 2007. The Davos Declaration and the summary of the conference debates demonstrate a clear commitment of the tourism sector to address climate change issues, and provide concrete recommendations for actions. The extensive technical report included in this publication was commissioned to an international team of experts by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It provides a synthesis of the state of knowledge about current and future likely impacts of climate change on tourism destinations around the world, possible implications for tourist demand, current levels and trends in GHG emissions from the tourism sector, and an overview of policy and management responses adopted by the key stakeholder groups (international organizations, public administrations, the tourism industry) with respect to adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. This publication is principally aimed at the tourism industry and government organizations at the different levels, who will have the primary responsibility of developing mitigation and adaptation strategies to respond to the challenges that global climate change will bring to the tourism sector. It also constitutes an important tool for international agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and financial institutions.

"This book represents the first comprehensive examination of the relationship between tourism and climate change and is of interest, not only to students of tourism, but also to policy-makers and the tourism industry who will have to respond to the challenges posed by climate change."--BOOK JACKET.

Climate change will exert an enormous impact on all societies in the medium to long term. Tourism, as both a commercial activity and social phenomenon is not immune. To date, industry has been slow to recognise the scale of the threat posed by a changing climate on its operations and consumers have been extremely reluctant to modify their travel behaviours. The Asia Pacific region is well on the way to being the 21st Century powerhouse of tourism, however the manner in which it develops will, in part, be determined by how the global community responds to climate change. This book examines climate change issues related to tourism in the Asia Pacific region. Chapters discuss demand and supply side issues, explore government policy responses and introduce several new adaptation models. The book also calls for a more effective linking of social science research with the scientific discourse to create long term resolution of and adaptation to this issue. This book was published as a special issue of Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research.

This second volume on coastal tourism and climate change in the Caribbean examines three key supporting sectors: golf, local agriculture and cuisine, and aviation. Today, climate change is propelling accelerated reforms in these three sectors. Initiatives to link local agriculture to tourism are enriching visitor experiences and revitalizing local crops and cuisine, while reducing the carbon impact-the food print-from agricultural imports. Similarly, golf certification programs are providing templates for constructing and operating courses with smaller carbon footprints. In aviation, as well, virtually all international airlines are testing non-fossil fuel alternatives, and a nascent but growing green airport movement is reducing aviation's carbon footprint and improving its resilience. As the volume concludes, coastal tourism in the Caribbean is today addressing two intertwined concerns and opportunities: Òthe impacts of climate change and imperative of responsible tourism.Ó