Conceptualizing vulnerability and adaptive capacity of tourism from an indigenous Pacific Islands perspective

Abstract

Climate is one of the most decisive attraction and risk factors for the tourism industry as a whole (Scott & Lemieux, 2010) and weather is often the driving factor in tourism decision-making. Climate change will have significant impacts on destination choice as parameters change, for example, with respect to visitor comfort in terms of increased heat stress due to rises in temperature (Matzarakis, 2006), and changing seasonality with impacts on the potential range of available leisure activities (Yu, Schwartz, & Walsh, 2009). Furthermore, increases in the number of extreme weather events have the potential to alter tourists’ perceptions of ‘safe’ destinations, leading to a decrease in tourism arrivals for some areas (Jeuring & Becken, 2013), while extreme events can damage ecosystems that tourism depends on such as coral reefs (Nalau, Schliephack, & Becken 2017a; World Meteorological Organization, United Nations Environmental Programme, & World Tourism Organization, 2008). Changes in weather and climatic conditions such as longer warm seasons can, however, also open up new areas and opportunities for tourism (Johnston, Johnston, Stewart, Dawson, & Lemelin, 2012; Uyarra et al., 2005). With such changes, the tourism industry at large is facing a somewhat uncertain operational environment. This means that the sector overall needs to plan and take into account changing environmental conditions, and increase its resilience by investing in strategies that can enable it to continue to flourish, including actions around climate change adaptation.