79

Today’s Biometeorology for Tourism/Recreation
Toshiaki ICHINOSE1* and Olaf MATUSCHEK2
1

National Institute for Environmental Studies / Nagoya University, Japan
16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
2
University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany*e-mail: toshiaki@nies.go.jp

Abstract
The authors review contributions on biometeorology for tourism/recreation at ICB2008 (International
Congress of Biometeorology), held in Tokyo on 22-26 September 2008, discussing the characteristics ofrecent studies in this discipline, their orientations and destinations. Recently, CTIS (Climate Tourism
Information Scheme) has been used in many relevant studies and new TCIs (Tourism Climate Indices) arebeing developed and tested up to the demands of application to some special outdoor environments in Asian
countries, which differ from those in Europe. In these regions, biometeorology for tourism/recreation is
popular because of the climatic features present. We reevaluate the impacts of climate change on
tourism/recreation under warming scenarios put forth in IPCC (Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change)
reports and discuss outputs of numerical climate models, focusing on eastern European health resorts. Tools
developed by Matzarakis’ group are now widely and commonly used in related studies. Research on humandimension aspects, such as the decision-making behavior of tourists in consideration of weather, is also a
hot issue.
Key words: biometeorology, climate change, indicator, recreation, tourism

1. Introduction
Weather and climate influence the environmental
resources that are the foundation for tourism/recreation,
the length and quality of tourism and recreation seasons,the health of tourists, and even the quality of tourism
experiences (Scott et al., 2004). Major studies on biometeorology for tourism/recreation in Europe have been
done from the viewpoint of human health (Scott et al.,
2004; Matzarakis, 2006), while the main aspect
Japanese studies have focused on is the environmental
impact of human behaviors influenced by weather(Ichinose et al., 2008). The authors, therefore, review
herein contributions on biometeorology for tourism/
recreation at ICB2008, held in Tokyo on 22-26
September 2008, discussing the characteristics of recent
studies in this discipline, their orientations anddestinations.

2. Basic Study on Biometeorology
Bioclimatic principles of climate therapy at healthresorts were discussed by Blazejczyk et al. (2008).
Under Polish legislation, specific climate features play
the most important role in treatment at health resorts.
There are several aspects of climate to consider: 1) multiannual characteristics of sunshine duration, precipitaGlobal Environmental Research
13/2009: 79-85
printed in Japantion and foggy days, strong winds, and extreme thermaland hydro-conditions, 2) therapeutic features of actual
weather, 3) sanitary conditions and 4) electromagnetic
fields. At the majority of Polish health resorts, thegeneral climatic conditions are relevant to climate
therapy. Depending on the season and actual weather
the patients can practice various forms of treatment.
The most useful period – when helio-, aero- and/orkinesitherapy can be used – starts in April-May and isruns till October. In the cold season active forms ofclimate therapy can be practiced. The sanitaryconditions are generally favorable for climatic treatment.
The most important limitation of some health resorts is
noise emitted by road traffic or by special outdoor
events. It is the most critical point in managing climate
therapy.

3. Studies on Bioclimatic Indicators and Their
Developments
Climate information provided to tourists and thetourism industry should include not only its generalfeatures (mean monthly and annual values of particularclimate elements) but also detailed information regarding to thermal comfort as well as aesthetic and physicalweather factors (e.g., de Freitas, 2003). Blazejczyk andMatzarakis (2008) presented recent concepts of tourism©2009 AIRIES80

T. ICHINOSE and O. MATUSCHEK

general terms, attendance levels reflect the outer limitsof acceptability of the meteorological environment,
while the duration of visitation enables calibration oflevels of approval insofar as it reflects ratings of on-site
conditions within the broad zone of tolerance.
Watanabe and Iwase (2008) performed meteorological measurements and subjective experiments in order toassess the thermal environment on a beach in summer.
In order to evaluate the effect of short and long wave
radiations on occupants on a beach, a mean radiant temperature (MRT) was calculated based on the measured
data. Using the MRT, the standard new effective
temperature (SET*) in the sun and the shade were computed, and related with the thermal sensation reportedby the occupants. The air temperature on the beach rises
as the distance from the waterside increases. The
calculated MRT considering solar radiation in the sun
and the shade were 74 deg C and 63 deg C at 13:00,
respectively. The subjects felt the thermal environment
in the shade cooler than that in the sun. The thermal
sensation assessed by the subjects shifted toward hotwith increasing SET* in the sun (Fig. 2). On the other
hand, there was less correlation between the SET* andthermal sensation in the shade.
Lin and Matzarakis (2008) used four national parks
in Taiwan as examples and treated the thermal comfortof the local people in Taiwan as the criterion for drawing
a PET (Physiologically Equivalent Temperature) isotherm for different periods during 2002-2006 so that the
tourists could find thermal comfort distributions fordifferent months and periods. In addition, they tried toanalyze the influence of climate parameters on tourist
flow by ANN (Artificial Neural Networks) and time
sequence. Their prediction rate was better than that of
traditional MLR (Multiple Linear Regression) models
and was more significant. Through their research findings, not only can they allow the tourists have better andmore reliable information about thermal comfort for all
periods of the year, but they can also predict the
influences of climate change in the future. Table 1
shows the PET classification for Taiwan relative to theWestern/middle European scale (e.g., Matzarakis &Mayer, 1996), which will be applied for further analysis

Thermal Sensation Vote

Overall Weather Rating [RAT]

climate evaluation based on analysis of actual weather.
The methods used for evaluation of climate conditions
for tourism and recreation (CTIS, WSI: Climate Tourism
Information Scheme, Weather Suitability Index) are supplementary approaches. CTIS provides information on
the frequency of various features of weather in consecutive 10-day periods of the year. The user cananalyze which weather properties would be useful for
his favored tourism activity. On the other hand, the WSI
provides synthetic information dealing with usefulnessof weather for different forms of recreational and tourism activities: passive (sun and air bathing) and active(mild and intensive). In comparison to the classic TCI(Tourism Climate Index) approach, the new weatheroriented methods provide physiologically relevant information for tourists and recreationists with a high time
resolution (10-day or even 5-day periods). CTIS and
WSI can be the basis for reasonable planning of tourism
and recreational activities for particular seasons.
A large amount of recreation research has been concerned with assessing recreation ‘demand,’ used to estimate the attractiveness of environmental attributes. The
most commonly used estimate of demand is attendanceor visitation data. de Freitas (2008) indicates that attendance is likely a poor measure of demand. The results
suggest that allocation of recreational time or time spent
on site per visit (duration of visit) is a more accurate
measure of user response and preferences. Similar patterns of sensitivity are reflected in behavioral responses.
Behavioral characteristics and patterns are as reliable assubjective verbal responses as indicators of the significance of atmospheric conditions. They provide objective
response criteria for calibrating, supplementing andvalidating verbal response scales related to a wide rangeof atmospheric phenomena. The results show thatclimate conditions within a broad zone of acceptability
are those that the beach user can readily cope with oreffectively modify (Fig. 1). Certain adjustments such as
the use of shading devices, clothing and windbreaks
substantially affect the immediate thermal environment
and thus the thermo-physiological state of the tourist.
Optimal thermal conditions appear to be those requiringno specific adjustment or behavioral fine-tuning. In

TOTAL BEACH POPULATION [POP]Fig. 1 Daily beach population and weather rating(de Freitas, 2008).

SET*

°C

Fig. 2 Relationship between SET* and thermal sensation voteassessed by the subjects (Watanabe & Iwase, 2008).

Today’s Biometeorology for Tourism/Recreation
Table 1 Thermal Sensations and PET classes for
Taiwan and Western/middle European
classes (Lin & Matzarakis, 2008).

Thermalsensation
Very cold

PET
range forTaiwan(℃ PET)PET range forWestern/middle
European(℃ PET)

14

4

18

8

22

13

26

18

30

23

34

29

38

35

42

41

Cold
Cool
Slightly cool
NeutralSlightly warm
Warm
Hot
Very hotin this study. It means Taiwan people feel “Slightlycool” between 22 deg C and 26 deg C.

4. Evaluation of Impacts of Climate Change
for Tourism/Recreation
Climate change results in both negative and positive
consequences for tourism. How will the tourism potential change and how will society adjust to modified
climate conditions? The relationship between tourism
and maritime climate and between tourism and climate
in mountains or forests, respectively, are the predominant focus of two climatically sensitive study sites inGerman: the North Sea and Black Forest region, under
the observation of Matzarakis and Endler (2008). Low
mountain ranges and forests are highly affected, with
impacts on health, recreation and tourism as well.
Especially in the lower regions of the Black Forest, thenumber of hot and humid-warm days will rise at theexpense of thermally comfortable conditions due toclimate change and global warming. Additionally, days
with sufficient snow reliability for winter sports will bemarkedly reduced by the middle of the 21st century.
This denotes a higher utilization of high altitude areas of
the Black Forest for tourism and recreation due to thepresence and sufficient function of recreation. Tourism
and the tourism industry are forced to rethink winter aswell as summer tourism. Due to the compensative
cooling impact of the sea and continuous wind systems,
the North Sea region will benefit in summer. On theother hand, days with cold stress will be reduced by 10(B1 scenario of IPCC: A high level of environmental
and social consciousness combined with a globallycoherent approach to a more sustainable development)
or 20 days (A1B scenario of IPCC: A balanced emphasison all energy sources in a more integrated world). It has
not yet been discussed to what extent the health81

component (e.g., stimulating climate) will change. The
present results are based only on one regional model,
but additional analysis with data of other regionalmodels is planned.
Future bioclimatic conditions in Austria under the
aspect of climate change scenarios were discussed by
Rudel et al. (2008). In order to describe futurebioclimatic conditions in a human-biometeorologicalmanner, they chose analysis using a modern thermal
index. For thermal bioclimatic conditions during theperiod 2071-2100 the situation will change rapidly andthe days with heat stress will show a strong increase in
the lower lying areas. Future bioclimatic conditions forsummer tourism in Austria show us an extension of theseason with pleasant thermal conditions into the late fall.
An increase in days with sultriness can be seen as
positive for lake tourism in Austria. However, health
tourism may be negatively affected by changes in sultry
conditions. Last but not least, a decrease in summer
precipitation events based on the climate scenario usedwill favorably affect almost all sectors of summer
tourism.
Tourism is the most important branch of the service
sector in Mediterranean countries. Nemeth et al. (2008)
discussed on variations of thermal bioclimate and its
influence on tourism in the Lake Balaton Tourism
Region (Hungary). The tourism sector (including decision makers, tourism industries and tourists) needs
accurate climatological information for their decisions.
For their long-term planning they need not only theactual weather conditions, but some information about
natural and man-made changes in climate. They
analyzed variations in the thermal bioclimate of theLake Balaton Tourism Region. According to their results,
the climate and bioclimate will warm up more and more.
It may be speculated that this variation will affect the
tourism potential in this region both directly andindirectly. First of all, the length of the tourism season
will increase. On the other hand, Lake Balaton will
attract more tourists if the Mediterranean area becomes
too hot. However, this is a positive economic scenario,
and there are some environmental risks (e.g., air
pollution due to growing vehicular traffic, water contamination by bathers, etc.). Besides this, the changing
climate will necessitate some basic investments (e.g., airconditioning in the hotels or in public conveyances).
Nemeth and Schlanger (2008) elucidated the influence of climate change on the thermal bioclimate ofsome Hungarian climatic health resorts. It is an
important task to recognize the climate and bioclimateof the resorts. The climatic and bioclimatic conditions ofclimatic health resorts have not yet been examined,
although the climate of these regions is crucial from thepoint of view of the therapies they offer. It is vital toknow how global climate change will influence theclimate of these regions, and whether these areas will
shift to a different bioclimatic category in the near future.
According to their results, the thermal bioclimate of thearea studied changed demonstrably during the last 47

82

T. ICHINOSE and O. MATUSCHEK

years. The mean values of PET increased in virtually all
seasons. Only the autumn showed a somewhat opposite
trend. The number of heat-stress days increased and thenumber of cold-stress days decreased (Fig. 3). They
need to examine those climatic parameters which are thekey factors in climatotherapy (e.g., air pressure, UV
radiation).
Gajic-Capka and Srnec (2008) examined response ofsnow parameters relevant to winter tourism to climatechange. Winter season (DJF) climatic trends (1950/19512005/2006) indicate a statistically significant positive
tendency in air pressure associated with an increase in
anticyclonic weather types, accompanied by no significant decreasing trend in precipitation amounts or
frequency of precipitation days (Table 2). The warming
is more pronounced in minimum than in maximum
temperatures. There were no significant trends identified
in snow parameters. In accordance with trends in otherclimatic variables, an identified reduction in snowfall
frequency was expected. It is interesting that snow cover
duration and snow depth have experienced slight positive changes. Attention should be drawn to the highinterannual variability present in each data series, which
represents high uncertainty for stakeholders. Therefore
further analysis would be required to detect variability
in more detail. Similarly to the observed trends, anincrease in surface pressure and 2 m temperature is
obtained for the projected climate change in winter.
Both changes are statistically significant. Although
precipitation has shown a decrease over the greater partof the domain, there has been almost no change at theobserved location at Prag. The projections reveal asignificant reduction of snow. Further research should
be extended to the analysis of other snow parameters in

Heat-stressed days

seasonal and shorter time periods for better planning ofholidays or short events.
Srnec and Zaninovic (2008) indicated the possibilityof warmer summers in the future on the Adriatic Coast.
In order to analyze possible changes in summer bioclimatic conditions in this region, they performed two setsof season-long integrations for current (1961-1990) andfuture climate scenarios (2041-2070) using the regional
climate model RegCM. Tzenkova-Bratoeva et al. (2007)
got similar results for the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
This means that summers could become too hot forsensitive people. The most effective groups are elderly
people or patients with reduced thermoregulatory
mechanisms due to, for example, circulatory systemdiseases. Possible adaptive responses could include ashift toward off-season tourism (Perry, 2000). Therefore,
future investigations should focus on the consequencesof changes on the bioclimate in other seasons, particularly spring and autumn.

5. Development of Tools for Studies on
Biometeorology for Tourism/Recreation
Matzarakis et al. (2008) have developed a variety oftools for biometeorological and climatological studies.
Nowadays, the processing of existing data sets fromnetworks and climate models offers several possibilities
for application in different disciplines. These data can beused in different temporal and spatial resolutions andcan also be important for decision making in terms ofclimate change discussion. However, not only original
climate data (i.e., air temperature or precipitation) isneeded from several disciplines for a multitude of
purposes, but also proceeded data. These tools allow usLinear trend

Linear trend

Cold-stressed days

Fig. 3 Variation of number of heat-stressed days (left) and cold-stressed days (right) (Nemeth & Schlanger, 2008).

Table 2 Correlation between snow parameters and air temperature, precipitation and air pressure forthe winter period (DJF), 1950/1951-2005/2006 at Prag, (bold – significant at 0.01 level)(Gajic-Capka & Srnec, 2008).

–0.620–0.572–0.568–0.537–0.529–0.607–0.562–0.538–0.434–0.503

0.061
0.053
0.054
0.471
0.103

0.197
0.130
0.191
0.768
0.173

–0.228–0.191–0.205–0.631–0.209

Today’s Biometeorology for Tourism/Recreation

to process the data and produce valid information for
applied climatology or bioclimatology (e.g., calculationof thermal indices) (Matzarakis, 2007). The main
advantages of these data (measured or modeled) canlimit their utility, because of the huge size andcomplexity of processing. Since the files are so huge,commonly used software packages can not handle thesedata easily, and the software that can is too expensive.
The convenient tools presented by Matzarakis et al.
(2008) do not require much time for learning and they
are user-friendly. They have no limitations regarding
data size and efficiently utilize computing power.
Furthermore, they are freely available and easily
understandable. These tools provide a range of capabilities not limited to the fields of applied climatology andtourism climatology.

tant for urban tourism. It is also noteworthy that aforecast of changeable weather is only acceptable totourists who prefer to stay in the mountains and those
who want to experience unknown, exotic areas. Since
their reactions to extreme weather conditions aremoderate, we may assume that changes in the travelling
patterns of German tourists will not be earth-shattering.
Perhaps fuel prices will exercise a greater influence thanweather perceptions. Nevertheless, further analyses areneeded in order to clarify, firstly, how these logical variants in the decision-making process correspond todifferent types of travel and vacation patterns and, secondly, which constraints on travel and vacation willassist in the development of new ideas for sustainable
patterns of tourism. Explorative cluster analysis ofpart-worth utilities and the relative importance of factors
leads to a typology of eight different logical variants inmaking a decision on the annual holiday (Table 3).
Zaninovic and Matzarakis (2008) discussed how
biometeorological leaflets should be used as a source ofmeteorological information for the tourism industry. An
analysis of climate and bioclimate, especially if ispresented in a clear and simple way that everyone canunderstand, gives a basis for promoting natural possibilities of tourist destinations. Tourist managers can

6. Application of Biometeorology for
Tourism/Recreation to Related Policies
Nobody wants bad weather during their vacation.
However, the results of the conjoint analysis reveal theimportance of weather in the process of decision making(Jetzkowitz, 2008). They confirm the results of Scottet al. (2007) and show that good weather is less imporTable 3

The logical variants of decision-making and their characteristics (Jetzkowitz, 2008).

Type
Logic of decision-making
A
Getting out of the daily round in Germany
to where it’s warm

Percentage
13%

B

Change to a beach and city in the south

15%

C

Nice warm and dry weather essential

19%

D

Exploring strange exotic worlds

11%

E

To the German beaches as always

9%

F

Into the mountains

11%

G

To a town in Germany not far visited
beforeBeach and warmth with good weather
expectations

12%

H

83

10%

Characteristics- Exploring an exotic country- Visiting a familiar country outside Germany- Forecast: good weather- No forecast: bad weather- Urban tourism- Beach holidays- Exploring a foreign exotic country- Forecast: good weather- No forecast: bad weather- Forecase: good weather- No forecast: bad weather- Warm and dry weather at the beginning- No cool weather or rain at the beginning- Not travelling to one’s familiar vacation
destination in Germany- Exploring an exotic country- Cool, dry weather at the beginning- Forecast: changeable weather- Beach holiday- Travelling to a familiar vacation spot in Germany- Exploring something new in Germany- Forecast: good weather- No forecase: bad weather- Staying in the mountains- No beach holiday- Forecase: good weather- Forecase: changeable weather- No forecase: bad weather- Urban tourism- Exploring something new in Germany- Beach holiday- No stay in the mountains- No vacation in the country- No cool weather or rain at the beginning- Forecast: good weather

84

T. ICHINOSE and O. MATUSCHEK

use meteorological knowledge for propaganda and offer
a wide spectrum of possibilities for spending holidays,
from summer tourism with sun and sea bathing totourism for health, recreation or sporting purposes,
depending on climatic and bioclimatic conditions during
the other parts of the year. Also, physicians should warn
their patients what periods are unsuitable to them andsuggest the best periods for improving their health. For
example, people who have difficulty bearing summer
heat, like elderly and weak people, could choose aperiod with pleasant biometeorological conditions ideal
for hiking or riding, which prevail along the Adriatic
coast during spring and autumn or in the mountains
during the summer. For sportsmen, who prefer an active
vacation, pleasant or even cool conditions would be
more convenient than summer heat, when the organism
has to spend energy for defense against the heat.
Tokiwa (2008) presented different viewpoints oncurrent biometeorology for tourism/recreation. Retailers
today plan to sell, order and stock according to daily
weather forecasts, taking into consideration the relationships between weather and customers’ needs. Services
related to tourism/recreation are also a target of thisLMD (Life-weather merchandising). LMD is a technique for ordering control, storage operations and so on,
based on biometeorological considerations and weather
forecasts. Businesses have succeeded at reducing losses,
and increasing profit ratios by practicing LMD. Throughthis means of merchandising, more finely-tuned orders
can be expected with higher accuracy, and estimation ofcustomers’ numbers or human behavior is possible aswell. Therefore, this merchandising information isthought to be very useful in stocking of raw materials,
product planning and general distribution. LMD could
also be introduced to the tourism industry, in particularly
to develop new planning of group tours in relation tobiometeorological highlight points. However, some
European commentators have pointed to a lack oforiginality and difference of sense for discussing thisviewpoint within their societies.

7. Discussion and Conclusions
The authors classified all contributions on biometeorology for tourism/recreation in ICB2008 into thefollowing five categories: 1) Basic studies on biometeorology, 2) Studies on bioclimatic indicators and theirdevelopments, 3) Evaluation of impacts of climatechange on tourism/recreation, 4) Development of tools
for studies on biometeorology for tourism/recreation and
5) Applications of biometeorology for tourism/recreation to related policies. Now CTIS is used in many
recent relevant studies and new TCIs are being
developed and tested up to the demands of application
to some special outdoor environments like summer
beaches and Asian countries where climatic featuresdiffer from those in Europe, where biometeorology fortourism/recreation has become popular. Evaluation of
impacts of climate change on tourism/recreation which

consider warming scenarios put forth in IPCC reports
and outputs of numerical climate models has been
popular, with a focusing on Eastern European healthresorts. Now tools developed by Matzarakis’ group arewidely and commonly used in related studies. Studies onhuman dimension aspects like decision-making behaviorof tourists considering weather are a hot issue as well.
Referencesde Freitas, C.R. (2003) Tourism climatology: evaluating environmental information for decision making and business planningin the recreation and tourism sector. Int. J. Biometeorology, 48:
45-54.
Ichinose, T., O. Matuschek and Y. Jing (2008) Biometeorology for
Tourism/Recreation in Japan: A Review. Global Environmental
Research, 12: 123-128.
Matzarakis, A. (2006) Weather- and climate-related information
for tourism. Tourism and Hospitality Planning & Development,
3: 99-115.
Matzarakis, A. (2007) Assessment method for climate and tourism based on daily data. In: A. Matzarakis, C.R. de Freitas and
D. Scott, eds., Developments in Tourism Climatology. Freiburg:
Commission on Climate, Tourism and Recreation, International
Society of Biometeorology, 52-58.
Matzarakis, A. and H. Mayer (1996) Another kind of environmental stress: thermal stress. WHO News, 18: 7-10.
Perry, A.H. (2000) Impacts of Climate Change on Tourism in the
Mediterranean: Adaptive Responses, FEEM Working Paper No.
35.00.
Scott, D., S. Gössling and C.R. de Freitas (2007) Climate Preferences for Tourism: An Exploratory Tri-Nation Comparison. In:
A. Matzarakis, C.R. de Freitas and D. Scott, eds., Developments in Tourism Climatology. Freiburg: Commission on
Climate, Tourism and Recreation, International Society ofBiometeorology, 18-23.
Scott, D., B. Jones and G. McBoyle (2004) Climate, Tourism andRecreation: A Bibliography, University of Waterloo, Waterloo.
Tzenkova-Bratoeva, A., J. Ivancheva and V. Alexandrov (2007)
Bioclimatic Conditions in Bulgarian Black Seaside in the 21th
Century. Abstract of Eight European Conference on Applications of Meteorology, CD, CL-1WE40-008.
<In the Proceedings of ICB2008 (CD), Tokyo>
Blazejczyk, K., A.B. Adamczyk, J. Baranowski and M. Kuchcik,
Bioclimatic principles of climate therapy in Polish healthresorts.
Blazejczyk, K. and A. Matzarakis, Evaluation of climate from thepoint of view of recreation and tourism.
de Freitas, C.R., New Generation Tourism Climate Indicators:
Assessing Climate Preferences and Sensitivity, and Climate asa Factor in Tourism Demand.
Gajic-Capka, M. and L. Srnec, Response of Snow Parameters
Relevant For Winter Tourism to Climate Change.
Jetzkowitz, J., Travel and Tourism in the Age of Human-induced
Climate Change – Results of a survey of German Tourists.
Lin, T.P. and A. Matzarakis, Climate-tourism Analysis and Application of Tourists Flow Forecast in Taiwan.
Matzarakis, A. and C. Endler, Climate change and tourism inGermany – North Sea and Black Forest.
Matzarakis, A., O. Matuschek, R. Neumcke, F. Rutz, M. Zalloom
and C. Endler, Tools for biometeorological and climatologicalstudies.
Nemeth, A., A. Matzarakis, V. Schlanger and A. Katona, Variations of thermal bioclimate and its influence to the tourism in
the Lake Balaton Tourism Region (Hungary).

Today’s Biometeorology for Tourism/Recreation
Nemeth, A. and V. Schlanger, Influence of climate change on thethermal bioclimate of some Hungarian climatic health resorts.
Rudel, E., A. Matzarakis, R. Neumcke, C. Endler and E. Koch,
The future bioclimatic conditions in Austria under the aspect ofclimate change scenarios.
Srnec, L. and K. Zaninovic, The Summer Bioclimatic Conditions
at the Adriatic Coast in 21st Century.
Tokiwa, K.: Life-weather Merchandising.
Watanabe, S. and T. Iwase, Thermal Assessment by using SET*
on a Beach in Summer.
Zaninovic, K. and A. Matzarakis, The Biometeorological Leaflet– Meteorological Information for Tourism Industry.

85
Toshiaki ICHINOSE

Toshiaki ICHINOSE is an Executive
Senior Research Scientist at the National
Institute for Environmental Studies(NIES), Japan, and a Professor at theGraduate School of Environmental
Studies, Nagoya University. With anacademic background in Geography andCivil Engineering, he is interested invarious aspects of Urban Environment
Systems, ranging from urban climatology, energy systems and GIS to theirapplication in urban planning. In particular, he has performed many
relevant field surveys in China and other Asian countries. He has authoredmany related publications including Counteracting Urban Heat Islands inJapan (Elsevier “Urban Energy Transition,” 2008). He has served as aboard member of the International Association for Urban Climate (IAUC)
and a member of the WMO Expert Team on Training on Urban
Climatology. His main on-going research topic is Strategic Urban
Planning and Assessment of Low-Carbon Cities.

Olaf MATUSCHEKOlaf MATUSCHEK is working on a
Master’s of Science degree at the
University of Freiburg in Germany. His
major is Geography, and his minor
subjects are Meteorology and Computer
Science. At the Meteorological Institute of
the University of Freiburg he works as an
assistant on the project KUNTIKUM(Climate Trends and Sustainable Development of Tourism in Coastal and Low Mountain Range Regions). AtKUNTIKUM, researchers work jointly together with tourism-oriented
politicians and representatives of the tourist industry. At the moment, Olaf
Matuschek is writing his Master’s thesis on the subject “Climate inNorthern China at the Maunder Minimum, 1680-1700, reconstructed from
Jesuit travel journals.”
One major focus of Olaf Matuschek’s research has been East Asia,
especially Japan. He thinks that through insight into both European andEast Asian cultural worlds and understanding of these regions’ different
patterns of solving problems, a deeper understanding of many pressing
questions can be accomplished. Olaf Matuschek is actively participating
in deepening international relationships.

(Received 24 April 2009, Accepted 8 June 2009)