The Tourism Climate Change Knowledge System

Effective climate change action relies on the production of relevant knowledge. This review provides an interdisciplinary meta-analysis to critically assess tourism and climate change knowledge production across three knowledge domains: academic, practical and political. Building on existing tourism knowledge frameworks and applying systems thinking, the Tourism Climate Change Knowledge System is developed consisting of five knowledge dimensions: Source of knowledge, Knowledge creation, Influence on knowledge, Knowledge content and Knowledge impact. Results reveal how knowledge differs across domains and what barriers impede effective knowledge generation. While some links could be identified, there remains a disconnect between academic knowledge outputs and practical and political knowledge needs. The holistic lens enables the formulation of recommendations to enhance the production and use of knowledge.     

Climate Change and Tourism: An Overview

This paper presents an overview of the relationship between tourism and global climate change. On the one hand, the tourism industry may be one of the greatest economic victims of climate change. Yet, on the other hand, the broader tourism sector is also a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. This study traces the evolution of academic interest in tourism and climate change. Growth in this area has tracked growth in interest in climate change in general, with tourism-related papers representing consistently about 0.5% of the published research on climate change.     

Attitudes of Tourism Students to the Environment and Climate Change

This paper reports on a global study of the attitudes of students studying in senior year and first-year postgraduate tourism and hospitality subjects to tourism and its relationship with the environment and climate change. The study determined that students are generally concerned about environmental degradation, feel knowledgeable about climate change, are concerned that it will become an even larger issue in the next 5 years and, generally, appreciate that tourism is a major contributor to carbon emissions. Moreover, some 70% had changed their behavior in the past 3 years to reduce their environmental impacts. However, specificity of knowledge about the causes of climate change was limited, which is symptomatic of a broader lack of detailed knowledge about environmental degradation, which in turn translates into rather generic behavior changes. Most significantly, less than 13% of students have changed their vacation patterns out of concern for the environment, with only a small minority intending to modify their travel patterns in the future.     

How Tourists and Tourism Experts Perceive Climate Change and Carbon-offsetting Schemes

This study was undertaken against the background of tourism as an active contributor to climate change, to explore how tourists and 'tourism experts' perceive climate change and forest carbon sinks as a means to offset carbon dioxide emissions. Three different surveys were undertaken in Australia and New Zealand that contained the same two questions: is climate change an issue for tourism, and would tourists be willing to participate in tree-planting to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. About half of all tourists questioned a link between climate change and tourism, but the willingness to plant a tree was surprisingly high among tourists (48%), who associated much broader benefits with trees than their function as carbon sinks. The study identified five groups of tourists that require different approaches for the development of educational campaigns. The degree to which cognitive or affective factors play a role for each group will be critical for the success of such campaigns. Tourism experts saw a changing climate as a potential threat for tourism, but did not necessarily see tourism's fossil fuel consumption and the resulting carbon dioxide emissions as a contributor to climate change.     

Responding to Climate Change: Australian Tourism Industry Perspectives on Current Challenges and Future Directions

Like other destinations in the Asia Pacific region, Australia's tourism industry is vulnerable to the impacts and implications of climate change. The country's reliance on its natural “product”, which is potentially under threat, coupled with the potential for changing consumer demand patterns, particularly in long-haul markets, should be concerning for the tourism industry. Yet, the tourism industry has been criticised for its short-term, profit orientation and lack of action regarding climate change [Hall, C.M., & Higham, J. (Eds.) (2005). Tourism, recreation and climate change. Clevedon: Channel View Publications; Jenkins, K., & Nicholls, S. (2010). The impacts of climate variability and potential climate change on tourism business in Torbay, England and implications for adaptation. Tourism Analysis, 15(1), 17–30; Viner, D. (2006). Tourism and its interactions with climate change. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 14(4), 317–415]. However, little empirical research has investigated the tourism industry's perspectives regarding climate change, neither the relative importance of climate change vis-a-vis other challenges facing the sector nor the strategies and actions required by the tourism industry to facilitate adaptation and mitigation strategies. It is against this background that a qualitative study was undertaken with expert representatives from both the public and private sectors of Australia's tourism industry to explore the industry's perspectives on current challenges and future directions with regards to climate change. The findings show that while the industry is aware of the importance of climate change, it is not seen as a pressing issue, particularly in light of the global economic crisis, and there has been little action by the industry in response to climate change. Respondents noted that the tourism industry is largely relying on, and waiting for, government intervention and leadership for the sector with regards to climate change.     

国际旅游科学研究新热点:全球气候变化对旅游业影响研究

伴随着全球气候变化科学研究的兴起,近年来全球气候变化对旅游业的影响逐渐成为国际旅游科学研究的新热点。本文划分了气候变化与旅游业研究阶段,按照响应—适应—缓解的系统流程,从全球气候变化对旅游目的地、旅游流、旅游者心理与行为、旅游产业系统的影响以及旅游活动对气候变化的缓解与适应等5个方面进行了综述。最后,总结归纳了国际气候变化对旅游业影响研究的一些基本特点,以期为我国在此领域的研究提供一些有益的启示。     

气候变化对旅游影响的研究进展

气候变化与旅游相互影响作为一个新兴研究领域引起了越来越多研究者的关注。文章从气候变化对旅游影响的研究历程、研究方法和研究热点、旅游对气候变化的影响等方面对气候变化与旅游相互影响的研究进行了综述与展望。     

Perceived Social Impacts of Tourism by Residents in the OTOP Tourism Village,Thailand

This study aims to investigate the impacts of tourism development at Baan Tawai, the first OTOP Tourism Village in Thailand, and to examine the relationship between demographic factors and Baan Tawai residents' perceptions of the social impacts of tourism development. Data were collected using questionnaires. The finding is that the residents positively perceive social impacts in term of job creation for women in the village. Additionally, they do not see any social changes brought in by tourism and do not think that tourism leads to an increase in prostitution, vandalism, burglary, or drug abuse.     

Effects of Climate Change on Alpine Skiing in Sweden

Climate change has already affected and will continue to affect physical and biological systems in many parts of the world. For example, annual snow cover extent in the northern hemisphere has decreased by about 10% since 1966, and in Sweden, the last decade was wetter and warmer than the preceding 30-year period. These changes will affect many aspects of utilisation patterns that are dependent on the physical environment, such as alpine winter tourism. In this paper, we discuss the future development of the downhill skiing industry in Sweden. We first review trends in alpine winter tourism in relation to climate change together with regional projections of climate change. Secondly, we examine trends in climate parameters relevant to alpine winter tourism in Sweden during the last 30 years. Thirdly, we take these parameters, together with regional projections of climate change, and predict effects on the number of skiing days in order to estimate the monetary loss for the skiing industry in Sweden. The analyses show predicted losses that are larger than current ski-ticket sales. Adaptation strategies such as the development of year-round tourist activities should be developed as soon as possible.     

Using a Regional Tourism Adaptation Framework to Determine Climate Change Adaptation Options for Victoria's Surf Coast

This paper reports research into adaptation to climate change for regional tourism destinations. It explains the application of a regional tourism adaptation framework model to the Surf Coast destination, within the state of Victoria, Australia. It then examines the usefulness of the framework model in guiding a vulnerability resilience assessment of the destination and developing strategies to increase the destinations resilience, resistance and readiness. A Delphi study was conducted, using a panel of experts, to determine the major risks and opportunities for tourism in the region as well as appropriate adaptation options. Although many of the findings focused on the best way to manage the negative bio-physical impacts of climate change, such as increased bushfire risk or more frequent and intense storms, several opportunities also became apparent including the potential to reduce seasonality. Tourism destination management is already a complex area and the introduction of climate change provides yet another challenge for managers and policy-makers. Consequently, the development and use of a regional adaptation framework can play an important role in assisting destination planning and management.     

Modelling a Tourism Response to Climate Change Using a Four Stage Problem Definition and Response Framework

Climate change has become a hot topic for research, but the response of national governments has been relatively cool, particularly in their support for effective mitigation measures to combat the problem. A review of the scientific literature (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC]. (2007). Summary for policy makers. In S. Solomon, M. Qin, Z. Manning, M. Chen, K. Marquia, M. Averyt, M. Tignor, & H. Miller (Eds.), Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. Contribution of working group 1 to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York: Cambridge University Press) paints a generally grim view of where the Earth is heading for by the end of the century if effective mitigation strategies are not implemented in the next few years. Mitigation measures of the type required to prevent major environmental damage in the future can only be effective if a global political approach based on agreed levels of climate change gas reduction is implemented. For its part the tourism industry is caught in a trap, unable to adopt meaningful mitigation strategies because of reluctance by consumers to bear the cost of changes that will be required but having to meet the cost of climate change mitigation and adaption strategies when they are introduced in the future. This article proposes a four stage problem definition and response framework with associated models that can be used by the industry to plan for and adapt to climate change both prior to and after the introduction of legislation and policies to combat climate change at the national and international levels.     

Tourists' Perception of International Air Travel's Impact on the Global Climate and Potential Climate Change Policies

Tourism's increasing contribution to climate change, especially through the use of air travel, is now acknowledged. This study seeks to explore tourists' knowledge and awareness of aviation's impact on the climate, their sense of personal responsibility and their reactions to specific climate change policies. A focus group approach – informed by interviews with international tourists leaving New Zealand – was chosen to involve tourists in discussing climate change and travel. In the focus groups, three policy options were discussed: voluntary initiatives, a global air travel charge and a per capita carbon budget. The global air travel tax emerged as a realistic compromise between restricting travel and achieving emissions reduction. When discussing individual responsibility for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, tourists distinguished between their travel and their everyday life, where responsibility for mitigation was perceived to be greater. The value of freedom to travel is firmly established in the minds of many tourists and limiting travel is considered unacceptable by the (hyper) mobile tourists who participated in this research. Only major societal changes to bring about behavioural change seem likely to reduce air travel's contribution to climate change.     

旅游社区东道主家庭的社会变迁研究综述

自20世纪70年代以来,作为旅游社会学和文化地理学的一个跨学科研究领域,旅游社区东道主家庭的社会变迁一直受到关注,并形成了包括结构-功能主义、马克思主义、女性主义和人文主义等不同思想流派.通过对中英文数据库文献的分析发现,相关研究集中在旅游社区家庭经济收入、性别地位、家庭结构、家屋格局和家庭认同等方面的变化上:旅游可以促进东道主家庭经济收入的提升,但也普遍存在着收益分配不公的问题;女性的旅游从业使其在家庭中的地位得到提升,但仍然受到父权制文化传统的限制;社区旅游使得东道主家庭结构逐渐从一元化向多元化方向发展;由于家庭客栈、开发性迁移和第二居所的出现,东道主的住房格局和生活空间受到严重影响;尽管旅游参与改变了扎根于传统地方的家庭认同感,但东道主也能对此进行主动调适.未来可以考虑新的拓展研究,包括构建旅游社区东道主家庭的社会变迁结构方程的模型、超越主客二分的对旅游城市东道主家庭的研究、对东道主家庭再社会化问题的研究等.     

Thais' Coping with Sociocultural Impacts of Tourism Development

Theravada Buddhism is the religion of Thailand and is acknowledged by a majority of population underpinning the values of the dominant group and tending to effect non-dominant groups. Therefore, it is undoubted that Buddhism has a strong influence on the everyday life of Thai people and their society and culture. In addition, Buddhism has influenced Thai society for centuries in terms of acceptance and kindness towards fellow people in order to maintain harmony in the human race. However, how much the influence of Buddhism is actually perceived and functioned in the everyday life of Thai people and the difference of Thai culture from other cultural groups is little understood. A constructivist paradigm with semi-structured interviews was employed. This paper analyses avoidance of confrontation as one of the characteristics of the Thai personality that is different to Western societies because Thai people avoid expressions of anger, displeasure and criticism while Westerners are perceived as more confrontational. These mild manners of Thai people bring a certain degree of harmony to their society. In this paper, Buddha's teaching and the Thai personality, not least avoidance of confrontation, underpins the reflection on how Thai people respond to sociocultural changes. This paper discuss why local people accept tourism as well as why they apparently attribute blame elsewhere. In addition, coping strategies, in terms of Thai psychology, how they respond to the sociocultural impacts of tourism is examined at the end.