ABSTRACT
1.0 Introduction
During the last two decades there has been an increasing awareness of the problem of climate change and global warming, on the part of institutions, companies, consumers and in the general society. Among the sectors most directly affected by climate change is tourism. Indeed, there is a close and complex relationship between tourism and climate change. On the one hand, there is a direct impact of climate change on tourist destinations. On the other hand, it is widely agreed that tourism activities exert an adverse influence on the environment and contribute to climate change, especially in terms of the consumption of transport services.
2.0 Objectives
The principal aim of this conceptual paper is to review the current state of knowledge on the topic, with particular emphasis on the management literature on tourism and climate change, in order to establish the state of the art and to outline an agenda of priorities for future research.
3.0 The Importance of Climate Change for the Tourism Sector
The tourism industry is a major contributor to global economic development, especially as an employer in developing economies and regions where it often represents the main source of national income (WTO, 2001; Hall & Higham, 2005; Bigano et al., 2005). However, tourism is clearly and closely dependent on and susceptible to climatic conditions (Giles & Perry, 1998; Agnew & Viner, 2001, Gössling & Hall, 2006).
Interestingly, until very recently researchers in the social sciences, and particularly in management, had been very slow to take up the issue of climate change and tourism (Agnew & Viner, 2001; Scott, 2003). Nevertheless, the recent surge in interest in this issue is clearly reflected by the establishment of international conferences dedicated to climate change and tourism, such as the First and Second International Conference on Climate Change & Tourism, in Djerba in 2003 and in Davos in 2007.
Hence, the timeliness of the present manuscript is clear in light of the recent growth in popular debate and interest, and the recent rise in the number of academic publications on climate change and tourism management. Furthermore, it is time to take stock of the situation in order to make sense of the growing and comprehensive body of research in the form of journal articles, government reports and conference proceedings.
4.0 Expected Contributions
The main (expected) contributions of the paper are summarised as follows;
- Identification of the existing main lines of research and the main referents.
- Identification and classification of management strategies for dealing with climate change.
- Examination of the realities of business climate change practices in the tourism sector
- Generation of an agenda for future research on climate change in the tourism sector.