Meeting the Challenges of Climate Change to Tourism: Case Studies of Best Practice

As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated, Climate change is the pre-eminent geopolitical and economic issue of the 21st century. It rewrites the global equation for development, peace and prosperity. The scientific evidence is clear - climate change is happening and the exposure to weather-related disasters such as heat waves, forest fires, cyclones, and flooding have the potential to seriously impact the tourism sector. The travel and tourism industry is both a significant contributor to climate change, being responsible for 5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and is directly impacted by it. At the same time, the industry is a vital driver of the global economy with an estimated US$ 6.6 trillion total contribution in 2012, and is particularly significant to developing and emerging economies where the impacts of climate change can be most disruptive. This collection of papers is a timely and indispensable source of insights and models of best practice relating to the mitigation and adaptation to climate change by various sectors of the industry.