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Climate Change and Tourism – Responding to Global Challenges
for tourism to reduce the overall vulnerability of communities to climate change through sustainable development, particularly in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). For the effective adaptation in their tourism sector, LDCs and SIDSs will require nonetheless assistance to tackle the adverse effects of climate change, anticipated to be exacerbated due to poverty and environmental needs. At the same time, the tourism sector is a non-negligible contributor to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions derived especially from the transport of tourists. 127, 128 The tourism sector must therefore respond accordingly to significantly reduce its GHG emissions consistent with the actions of the international community. The climate change mitigation potential is thought to be relatively high in the tourism sector because efforts to lower energy consumption and GHG emissions in the sector are still largely in their infancy and thus far have been generally taken without any vision of a coordinated sector-wide strategic response. 129 Tourism can play a significant role in addressing climate change if the enormous innovativeness and resources of this vital global economic sector are fully mobilized. Consistent with the position of the United Nations 130 and the IPCC 131, the tourism sector should not address the challenge climate change in isolation, but do so in the context of the broader international sustainable development agenda. The critical challenge before the global tourism sector is to develop a coherent policy strategy that decouples the projected massive growth in tourism in the decades ahead from increased energy use and GHG emissions, so as to allow tourism growth to simultaneously contribute to poverty alleviation and play a major role in achieving the United Nations MGDs. “Climate change as well as Poverty alleviation will remain central issues for the world community. Tourism is an important element in both. Governments and the private sector must place increased importance on these factors in tourism development strategies and in climate and poverty strategies. They are interdependent and must be dealt with in a holistic fashion.” Francesco Frangialli, UNWTO Secretary-General (2007)
7.2 Moving Forward on Understanding the New Realities The response of the tourism community to the challenge of climate change has visibly increased over the last five years. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), together with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Government of Tunisia hosted the First International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism in Djerba, Tunisia in 2003. The conference aimed at developing awareness among government administrations, the tourism industry and other tourism stakeholders about the salience of climate change impacts occurring or anticipated to affect tourism destinations and the need to carefully consider the consequences of climate change mitigation policies on tourism as well as the obligation of the tourism sector to be a part of the solution by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. The recognition within the Djerba Declaration of the complex inter-linkages between the tourism sector and climate change and the need to take adaptation and mitigation measures, established a comprehensive framework for future research and policy making. 132 The Davos Conference and Declaration built on the consensus reached in Djerba and took further the policy debate focusing on concrete responses that the different stakeholder groups can take. Subsequent workshops sponsored by the European Science Foundation (Milan 2003), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Warsaw 2003), the European Forum on Integrated Environmental Assessment (Genoa 2004), and the Experts on Climate Change and Tourism group (eCLAT) (Netherlands 2006, Paris 2007) and the Marrakech Task Force on Sustainable Tourism further contributed to the development of collaborative research and practical case studies by a network of international tourism stakeholders and scientists. For example, UNWTO initiated pilot adaptation projects in Fiji and Maldives through the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) in collaboration with UNEP and the United Nations Development
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