From Davos,Switzerland to Mombasa,Kenya: a position paper on the adoption of the ‘Davos declaration’ by hotels

Climate change has been identified as a major challenge in the achievement of sustainable development especially for developing countries like Kenya. There has been a wide acknowledgement that there is a need for long-term strategies for the industry players to reduce their contribution to climate change in line with other industries. Industries and societal sectors have sought ways of mitigating the causes of climate change. The Second International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism, held in Davos, Switzerland, on 3 October 2007, provided practical guidelines for the industry in response to climate change. This paper seeks to evaluate the adoption of the ‘Davos Declaration’ among selected Mombasa hotels in terms of water, energy and waste management. Results indicate that despite wide knowledge among hoteliers on the impacts of climate change and the role hotels can play in its mitigation, most hoteliers are slow in adopting the mitigation measures.     

Climate change adaptation in the Pacific Island tourism sector: analysing the policy environment in Vanuatu

Tourism is a growing economic sector in the South Pacific providing the region with great potential for economic development. Vanuatu and its neighbouring Small Island Developing States and Territories experience a high vulnerability to climate change impacts. The tourism sector in Vanuatu is particularly vulnerable, and it needs to develop and implement effective adaptation strategies to reduce climate change risks. Policies play an important role by providing the platform on which adaptation can occur and resilience be built. This study examines the policy environment in Vanuatu for its conduciveness to climate change adaptation. It identifies the types of adaptation processes (explicit or implicit) and types of adaptation measures (technical, business management, behavioural, policy, and research and education) and critically analyses the current tourism-related policies for their effectiveness in assisting the sector to address climate change. It is found that the majority of policies identified deal with climate change through implicit adaptation processes and mainly through the use of policy and research and education measures. The authors argue that in order to strengthen the resilience of the tourism industry, the Government of Vanuatu needs to develop and implement explicit climate change adaptation policies for the tourism sector.     

Adapting to climate change: perceptions of vulnerability of down-hill ski area operators in Southern and Middle Finland

Climate change is likely to affect the tourism sector, particularly areas, such as snow-based tourism, that are directly dependent on climate and weather conditions. Especially vulnerable are low-lying ski areas. This study identifies the climatic factors that are crucial for economically successful operation of low-lying ski areas in Southern and Middle Finland and contemplates how these factors are seen to change with climate change. The study then analyses the preferences for and perceptions of adaptation strategies of downhill ski operators in terms of the adaptation measures they can implement or are willing to take. The findings indicate that climatic conditions set preconditions for the operation of the ski areas, but short-term operational prospects and inter-annual variability in weather conditions rather than foreseen changes in climatic conditions guide the operational decisions of the ski area operators. A key adaptation strategy to respond to uncertain snow conditions is artificial snowmaking, which lowers the vulnerability of the areas to the impacts of climate change too.     

Tourism,climate change and adaptation: a review

The relationship between tourism and changing climate has been discussed and studied for a relatively long time in tourism research. Over the past 15 years, more focused studies have begun to appear, and especially recently, the issue of adaptation has been emphasised as an urgent research need in tourism and climate change studies. This paper is based on a systematic review of the tourism and adaptation literature prior to 2012. It discusses adaptation challenges, the dimensions of vulnerability in a tourism context and the implications of such studies on communities. By dividing the current adaptation studies into business; consumer; destination; and policy- and framework-focused theme areas and traditions, the paper concludes that adaptation studies in tourism have so far had a limited focus on community perceptions, which in general has been an area of major interest in tourism research. More emphasis on community-based research in relation to tourism and climate change allows highly contextual adaptation challenges to be met in a more sustainable way.     

Aviation’s inclusion in international climate policy regimes: Implications for the Caribbean tourism industry

Nations with tourism dependant economies are becoming increasingly concerned about the inclusion of aviation in greenhouse gas mitigation policy for international bunker fuels and more recently adaptation policy proposals. The central concern is that such policies will increase the cost of traveling by air, therefore reducing visitor arrivals to long-haul, tourism-dependent destinations, often small island developing states. This study used a tourism arrivals model to examine the implications of currently proposed climate policies for the world’s most tourism dependant region – the Caribbean. Results indicate that under current proposals for both mitigation and adaptation focused climate policy, reductions in tourist arrivals from the major markets of Europe and North America would be negligible versus business as usual growth projections Only under the most stringent mitigation policy scenario. Which may portend a post-2020 policy regime, is a significant decrease in tourist arrivals predicted. Of the climate policies assessed, the adaptation policy had the potential to provide greater economic benefits to the Caribbean region.     

Entrepreneurship in nature-based tourism under a changing climate

This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study examining the values and attitudes of nature-based tourism entrepreneurs in relation to adaptation to climate change. The aim is to focus on tourism stakeholders’ values and ideas about tourism entrepreneurship, which may bring interesting new insights to the tourism and climate change research and support the industry in adaptation and mitigation processes. The data utilised in this paper consists of 19 thematic interviews conducted with nature-based tourism entrepreneurs in Finland between 2009 and 2013. Analysis of the data reveal issues concerning views on entrepreneurship in general, on the independence and individuality of the enterprises, on the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders in the processes of adaptation and on the attitudes towards innovations and actions in the changing climate. These issues, together with the rate and scale of the change, seem to affect decision-making by the enterprises, but their importance as predictors of action and behavioural intentions needs to be studied more thoroughly. Additionally, more information is required regarding the role of the surrounding social environment as a co-creator of these kinds of values. However, the study supports previous studies on entrepreneurship and its influence on survival and resilience.     

The coexistence of tourism and mining: a strategic framework for cross-sectoral interaction

The tourism and resources sectors are often observed to come into conflict. Yet little research has examined the complex interactions between the two sectors, specifically the strategies for building resilient rural regions. Consequently, this research explores the coexistence of the tourism and resources sectors in the Gladstone and Roma regions in Queensland, Australia. A total of 78 in-depth interviews revealed a complex network of interactions between the tourism and resource sectors, outlining deficiencies in previous theoretical premises on sectoral interaction. Key findings revealed three key synergies including resources sector investment, resources sector multipliers and induced travel, and formal and informal partnerships. Strategies to enhance the coexistence also emerged focused on reducing the negative impacts of the co-evolution process, improving industrial tourism products and developing trust, partnerships and a joint vision between the two sectors. A theoretically informed management framework for future interaction is subsequently proposed for testing and application in other contexts.     

Fostering community empowerment and capacity building through tourism: perspectives from Dullstroom,South Africa

This study observed tourism development in the popular South African destination of Dullstroom, Mpumalanga, and sought to identify the significant social benefits that have been fostered as a result. Dullstroom is synonymous with fly-fishing and is well-known throughout the country for its unique natural environment that is host to diverse flora and fauna. In the South African context, the impacts generated by tourism development on local communities have remained preoccupied with the economic benefits they deliver and rarely the important social gains that may also be developed. Between October 2012 and March 2013, a qualitative research methodology was developed to capture the views and experiences of 46 local employees (predominantly Non-white, South African females) and 16 owners or managers of local tourism-focused businesses. The findings reveal that tourism development has provided a number of positive impacts and that local community members encountered a number of benefits that ventured beyond economic factors. These benefits included empowerment through capacity building and the acquisition of positions that involved a high degree of responsibility, many of which would have been otherwise unobtainable but for the support of local tourism businesses. Others were afforded opportunities to pursue formal qualifications that enabled them to pursue dreams of senior positions or even new career paths beyond Dullstroom. The platforms that enabled these outcomes are discussed from the perspectives of both employers and employees in the local tourism economy.     

Climate change and tourism in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Climate change impacts such as coral bleaching are now evident on many coral reefs visited by tourists. This paper reports on climate change workshops and climate change actions implemented by tourism operators and agencies in Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, with a focus on eco-efficiency initiatives. The results of a climate change action survey of 82 Great Barrier Reef tourism operators are also presented. Climate change responses by coral reef destinations require a mix of environmental and business strategies.     

Climate change and the air travel decisions of UK tourists

Whilst much effort has been made to communicate to the public the importance of reducing carbon footprints in the home, one area where emissions are growing rapidly and little attempt has been made to increase consumer understanding of the impacts is holidays, particularly those involving air travel. Using focus group research, this paper explores tourists’ awareness of the impacts of travel on climate change, examines the extent to which climate change features in holiday travel decisions and identifies some of the barriers to the adoption of less carbon-intensive tourism practices. The findings suggest that many tourists do not consider climate change when planning their holidays. The failure of tourists to engage with the climate change impact of holidays, combined with significant barriers to behavioural change, presents a considerable challenge in moving the tourism industry onto a sustainable emissions path. The findings are discussed in relation to theoretical perspectives from psychology and sociology.     

Integrated vulnerability assessment of ecotourism to climate change in Dana Biosphere Reserve,Jordan

Climate change has become a major threat to ecotourism in protected areas. This study aims to assess the vulnerability of the ecotourism system in Dana Biosphere Reserve (DBR), the major ecotourism destination in Jordan, to climate change. We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with key informants in DBR to assess climate change-related threats, their influence on natural resources, local communities and ecotourism's activities; and adaptation practices. The results indicate that DBR is highly exposed to multiple climate threats, specifically reduced precipitation, shifts in the rainy season, and increased frequency and intensity of drought. These changes are degrading the environment, shifting tourism seasons, and changing livelihoods and lifestyles of local communities. To mitigate these diverse consequences, DBR implements a range of environmental management, technical, educational and business management policies and practices. However, this vulnerability assessment, which addressed social, economic, and environmental impacts, provides a holistic understanding of the susceptibility of the tourism system to climate change and guidance for facilitating future adaptation.     

A critical review of climate change risk for ski tourism

Ski tourism is a multi-billion dollar international market attracting between 300 and 350 million annual skier visits. With its strong reliance on specific climatic conditions, the ski industry is regarded as the tourism market most directly and immediately affected by climate change. A critical review of the 119 publications that have examined the climate change risk of ski tourism in 27 countries is provided. This growing and increasingly diverse literature has projected decreased reliability of slopes dependent on natural snow, increased snowmaking requirements, shortened and more variable ski seasons, a contraction in the number of operating ski areas, altered competitiveness among and within regional ski markets, and attendant implications for ski tourism employment and values of vacation property real estate values. The extent and timing of these consequences depend on the rate of climate change and the types of adaptive responses by skiers as well as ski tourism destinations and their competitors. The need to understanding differential climate risk grows as investors and financial regulators increasingly require climate risk disclosure at the destination and company scale. Key knowledge gaps to better assist ski tourism destinations to adapt to future climate risk are identified.     

The relevance of the tangible and intangible social impacts of tourism on selected South African communities

Most tourism social impact studies emphasise tangible social impacts such as economic improvement. In developing countries such as South Africa, a small percentage of tangible benefits filter down to community level. This creates a problem as various studies revealed the importance of community support for the sustainability of the tourism industry. Therefore it was important to explore the role of both the tangible and the intangible social impacts of tourism. Communities with established tourism industries (Clarens, Soweto and Jeffreys Bay) formed part of the quantitative research. Through exploratory factor analyses, 31 social impact statements could be categorised into four tangible and two intangible impacts. The tangible factor Economic improvement obtained a low rating, meaning that it was not directly experienced by residents, while the intangible factor Community pride and upliftment obtained the highest rating among all factors. This, together with the fact that community members continue their support for the tourism industry, is a novel find, indicating the significant role of intangible social impacts in fostering community support. This finding shows the importance of incorporating intangible social impacts into tourism planning in developing countries. Contributions are made towards social impact research methodology and literature.     

Collaborative governance for low-carbon tourism: climate change initiatives by Australian tourism agencies

The Australian tourism industry is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change on natural areas and the destination choices of long-haul travellers concerned about carbon emissions. A National Tourism and Climate Change Taskforce was established in 2007; with a national action plan for Tourism and Climate Change produced in 2008. Implementing these climate change actions requires new partnerships between tourism agencies, business programmes, carbon consultants, and offset providers. This paper assesses collaborative governance of climate change in Australian tourism, with a focus on low-carbon initiatives promoted to tourism operators by state and territory government tourism agencies. The paper compares the climate change initiatives of these tourism agencies based on six key dimensions of governance including: accountability, transparency, involvement, structure, effectiveness, and power [Ruhanen, L., Scott, N., Ritchie, B., & Tkaczynski, A. (2010). Governance: A review and synthesis of the literature. Tourism Review, 65(4), 4–16]. While most state and territory tourism agencies provided resources on climate change initiatives for tourism operators there was little accountability for emissions reduction within the agency. Collaborative governance of climate change was also more developed in states with climate change policies, destinations vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (e.g. Great Barrier Reef, Queensland), or dependent on long-haul travellers. Further research is needed on the governance and effective delivery of carbon emissions reduction programmes by tourism agencies.     

The influence of a film on destination image and the desire to travel: a cross‐cultural comparison

The objective of this study was to measure the immediate impacts of a film on the perceptions of viewers from different countries. The film chosen for this experiment was the Motorcycle Diaries in which South America was featured prominently in the film. Using established scales from the tourism and marketing literature, viewers from the USA, Canada and Spain were surveyed before and after seeing the film, and results showed that the film did change the viewers' perceptions of South America. After watching the film, a large percentage of the respondents expressed a desire to visit the countries seen in the film, with Canadians showing a significantly higher desire to visit South America than the US and Spanish participants. Those who were motivated to travel by the film were especially influenced by the scenery, landscape and the cultural attractions of the destination as depicted in the movie. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An integrated methodological framework: engaging local communities in Arctic tourism development and community-based adaptation

The Arctic region is experiencing transformation due to climate change, generating both threats and opportunities to local communities. In addition to warming, the signs of climate change are expected to materialise through an increase in the frequency and intensity of weather extremes. Climate-change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) have so far operated fairly independently, but there is an emerging need to examine their synergies due to their similarities. Tourism in the Arctic is also increasingly being encouraged by the different levels of government and seen as an important tool for economic development. The special features of Arctic tourism include a high dependency on natural resources, making it vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This article introduces a methodological framework merging elements from DRR, CCA and tourism development with a focus on community-based data-acquiring technique. Its practicality is emphasised through the focus on current and past community responses to weather anomalies and consequent adaptation measures. It additionally explores the relationship between the environment, community and tourism and aims to understand the characteristics of a community. Two case-study communities in Finnish Lapland demonstrate its relevance and contribution to CCA and to wider sustainable Arctic tourism development.     

Tourism flows between India and Singapore

The tourism industry has become increasingly important as a source of revenue and employment for countries in Southeast Asia. Within the Southeast Asian region, intraregional travel has also seen an upsurge since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997. More attention is also being paid to attract other Asian tourists from China, India, Japan and South Korea to the region. Competition to be tourism hubs in the region has seen countries such as Singapore developing an array of incentives to entice inbound foreign tourists to its shores. The aim of this paper is to examine the growing importance of India as a source of inbound tourists for countries in Southeast Asia and in particular Singapore. India is an apt case study because of its long historical and cultural links with the region. Another main motivation for examining inbound tourists from India is India's engagement with the Southeast Asian region through its ‘Look East’ policy. Following from its economic reforms and liberalisation of 1991, India has sought to strengthen economic links with ASEAN member states through a range of economic sectors including tourism. The 1991 Indian economic liberalisation has also created an upsurge of Indian business travellers who are exploring investment and business opportunities in the Southeast Asian region. With India's economic liberalisation of 1991, an expanding middle class has come to view foreign travel as a necessity. In turn, ASEAN member states, such as Singapore in particular, which is heavily dependent on its services sector, including tourism, for revenue, have chosen to regionalise its tourism operations by collaborating and investing in projects in India to woo more Indian tourists. Competition in the tourism sector among ASEAN countries has increased the urgency for Singapore to reinvent itself to attract foreign tourists and implement a number of initiatives to maintain its share of the tourism market. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparing for climate change: recognising its early impacts through the perceptions of dive tourists and dive operators in the Egyptian Red Sea

Climate change has the potential to permanently alter the attraction of many destinations and substantially impact the benefits derived from tourism. These impacts can be reduced if vulnerability to climate change is understood and operators take steps to adapt. Some of the more immediate and manageable impacts are likely to result from changes in tourist perceptions and attitudes towards climate change. We test for early impacts in the Red Sea region and for the awareness of tourism operators. We interviewed 150 tourists and 35 operators. Our data suggest that changes in tourist awareness are already apparent; yet, operators ascribe only a moderate level of environmental and climate awareness to them. This ‘perception gap’ increases the vulnerability of dive operators.     

Introduction to the special issue: Air transport in the Global South

Research on the development and impacts of air transport has hitherto focused mainly on developed countries in the Global North, and relatively little on less developed countries in the Global South. The seven papers of this Special Issue of the Journal of Transport Geography aim to address this imbalance and encourage further research on air transport development in the Global South. In recent years, the Global South has witnessed significant changes in air transport networks and policies, with implications for economic growth, spatial development and airline business models. This Special Issue explores some challenges to air transport development in the Global South for countries in Africa, South America, the Middle East and Asia, including links between air transport and economic development, the evolution and key drivers of air transport growth and the spatial distribution of passenger airline networks, and the development and impact of low-cost carriers. It also identifies opportunities for future research in this growing area.     

Major environmental impacts of European tourist transport

By merging European passenger transport demand data with international tourism data, a new data model was created, giving insight in the environmental impacts of tourism transport between the places of residence of European Union citizens and their tourist destinations. Analysis with this data model shows that, of the environmental impacts considered (climate change, air quality, noise and nature/landscape), climate change generates more than half of the externalities of tourist transport. Policies with the objective of reducing the external cost of European tourism should focus on measures reducing the impacts of tourist air transportation and intercontinental tourism.