A summary of how climate change effects in sectors affect the tourism sector positively or negatively is given in Table 7. Table 7. Matrix of interdependencies Affecting TOURISM SECTOR CC effect in … (see Positively Negatively Agriculture New food produced and offered to tourists Food production Biodiversity and Ecosystems Opportunities for new tourism products Opportunities for new destinations development weather patterns The loss of regulating ecosystem services (protection from erosion, avalanches) can lead to the loss of some assets (for example snow, shorelines) Energy Longer average stay Higher innovation rate Slower growth in arrivals Forestry New tourism products (berries, mushrooms) New forests as buffer zones (water storage, carbon sequestration) Worse tourism conditions Human Health New tourism products – SPA, wellness, wellbeing Biophysical thresholds (for example temperatures) Fewer active and sports tourism products Transport Better access to (new) tourism destinations and attractions Growing emissions of GHGs Impacts on infrastructure Environment More attractive under scenario of extreme weather events Shorter average stay Saving water reduces vulnerabilities, allow to cater to greater number of tourists Longer average stay Costly to increase water availability (for example desalination) Note: The above Matrix of sectoral interdependencies reflects how climate change effects in one sector affect the Tourism sector positively or negatively. Priority Setting Approach Many views about priorities in CCA strategies and actions have been published in official reports and in scientific papers. For example, UNEP (2008) developed the following priorities for tourism CCA activities: 1) Adapt now. It is imperative to commence the process of adaptation without any unnecessary delay. Climate change will accelerate. Therefore, further adaptation to current risks can yield immediate benefits. 2) Create conditions to enable adaptation. Numerous barriers exist to impede adaptation, including: competing priorities for scarce resources, lack of knowledge, weak institutions, degraded natural resources, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient financial resources, and
Table 11. Adaptation options in Bulgaria assessed by various criteria Adaptation options Criteria Time (years) Budget Benefits Efforts Measurement indicators (outputs) Institutions involved Consequences no adaptation/maladaptation Tourism CCP development 1 # ### ## NAS and NAP; constitution of a climate change and tourism adaptation body MoEW, MT ### framework development 1-2 # ### ## Law for CCA in tourism MT, MJ, MF ### Awareness raising/communication campaign 2-3 ## ### ### Number of seminars conducted; organizations covered; number of participants; communication activities conducted – number of media and press releases MT, tourism associations, OTRMs, and municipalities ### Indicators development 1-2 # ## ## Indicators developed, adopted and disseminated MT, research institutions, climate change and tourism experts ### Knowledge base 2-5 # ### ## Climate change in tourism database created MT, tourism associations, OTRMs, and municipalities ### Adaptive capacity assessment 1-2 ## ## ### Report on the tourism sector adaptive capacity needs MT, tourism associations, OTRMs, research institutions, tourism experts, and municipalities ## Capacity development (training and education) 2-4 ## ### ### Number of seminars held; organizations covered; number of participants; training and communication tools developed; Number of Climate Change Tourism Adaptation courses and programs in higher institutions (number of students enrolled) MT, tourism associations, OTRMs, educational institutions, tourism experts, and municipalities ### Specific adaptation measures 2-13 ### ### ### Adaptation measures discussed, adopted and implemented; Number of EU and otherwise funded tourism adaptation projects; favorable tourism statistics MT, tourism associations, OTRMs, private sector – tourism operators, tourism services suppliers, and municipalities ### Source: Author’s vision. Note: # = low, ## = medium, ### = high degree
Vodenska, M., and M. Assenova. 2011. Introduction to Tourism. MATKOM. Vodenska, M., and S. Mileva. 2017. “Sixty Years of Tourism Higher Education in Bulgaria.” European Journal for Tourism Research, Vol. 2 (in print). World Bank. 2010. Changing the Climate for Development, World Development Report, Overview, World Tourism Organization. 1993. Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Vol. I, 45 Ed. ———.2008. Sustainable development of tourism (climate change), http://sdt.unwto.org/en/content/climate-change-tourism WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council). 2016. Bulgaria: Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2016. ———. 2017. Bulgaria: Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2017. Zachariadis, Th. 2012. “Climate Change in Cyprus: Impacts and Adaptation Policies.” Cyprus Economic Policy Review 6 (1): 21–37
It can be argued that the highest adaptation preparedness at present can be observed among tourists – they are very sensitive to any changes, including climate ones, and given the enormous tourism supply available both at home and abroad are very quick to change their travel patterns temporarily or permanently. A Portfolio of Climate Change Adaptations Utilized by Tourism Table 19. A Portfolio of Climate Change Adaptations Utilized by Tourism Stakeholders Type of adaptation Tourism operators/businesses Tourism industry associations Governments and communities Financial sector (investors/insurance) Technical Snowmaking Slope contouring Rainwater collection and recycling systems Cyclone-proof building design and structure Enable access to early warning equipment (for example radios) to tourism operators Develop websites with practical information on adaptation measures Reservoirs, and desalination plants Fee structures for water consumption Weather forecasting and warning systems Require advanced building design or material (fire resistant) standards for insurance Provide information material to customers conservation plans Low season closures Product and market diversification Regional diversification in business operations Redirect clients away from affected destinations Snow condition reports through the media Use of short-term seasonal forecasts for the planning of marketing activities Training programs on CCA Encourage environmental management with firms (for example through certification) Impact management plans Convention/ interruption insurance Business subsidies (for example, insurance or energy costs) Adjust insurance premiums or not insurance policies Restrict lending to high risk business operations Policy Hurricane interruption guarantees Comply with regulation (for example, building code) Coordinated political lobbying for GHG emission reductions and adaptation mainstreaming Seek funding to implement adaptation projects Coastal management plans and set back requirements Building design standards (for example, for hurricane force winds) Consideration of climate change in credit risk and project finance assessments Research Site location (for example, north facing slopes, higher elevations for ski areas, and high snow fall areas) Assess awareness of businesses and tourists and knowledge gaps Monitoring programs (for example, predict avalanche risk, beach water quality) Extreme event risk exposure Education conservation education for employees and guests Public education campaign Water conservation campaigns Campaigns on the dangers of ultraviolet radiation Educate/inform potential and existing customers Behavioral Real-time webcams of snow conditions GHG emission offset programs Extreme event recovery marketing Good practice