Climate change and tourism

Climate change and Tourism
© Ramakrishna Kongalla,
Assistant Professor
R'tist @ Tourism

• “Global Warming stops global roaming”
• Daily Telegraph(Australian newspaper)
• “The global warming scenario is pretty grim.
I'm not sure I like the idea of polar bears
under a palm tree” - Lenny
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• Tourism as an industry is increasing in both volume and economic
importance.
• Several places, that only a few years ago were inaccessible, are now
becoming very popular holiday destinations.
• However, the ecosystems of many of these resorts are particularly vulnerable
to climate change.
• Global and regional temperatures are rising. Climate change is expected to
increase the risk of illness in several parts of the world and consequently
discourage tourism.
• Climate models suggest a future warming of 0.2 - 0.3°C per decade and sea
levels are expected to rise at a rate of 4 to 10cm per decade.
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• The impacts of climate change on tourism are likely to manifest
themselves in a number of different ways according to local
conditions.
• Many of these impacts will develop indirectly through
increased stresses placed on environmental systems.
• The most serious impact of this will be sea level rise,
deterioration of monuments, depletion of natural tourist
attractions, rise of temperature causing discomfort and lesser
snow falls etc.
• Global climate change is arguably the most serious
environmental issue of our time, and tourism is a potential
victim of it.
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Introduction
• India emits the fifth most carbon of any country in the world. At
253 million metric tons, only the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan
surpassed its level of carbon emissions in 1998.
• Carbon emissions have grown nine-fold over the past forty
years. In this Industrial Age, with the ever-expanding
consumption of hydrocarbon fuels and the resultant increase in
carbon dioxide emissions, the greenhouse gas concentrations
have reached levels causing climate change.
• Going forward, carbon emissions are forecast to grow 3.2% per
annum until 2020. To put this in perspective, carbon emissions
levels are estimated to increase by 3.9% for China and by 1.3%
for the United States.
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• India is a non-Annex I country under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Green house gases and climate Change, and as such, is
not required to reduce its carbon emissions.
• An historical summary of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil
fuel use in India is increasing rapidly and causes global warming.
• All inhabitants of our planet have an equal right to the atmosphere,
but the industrialized countries have greatly exceeded their fair, per-
capita share of the planet’s atmospheric resources and have induced
climate change.
• The most developed countries possess the capital, technological and
human resources required for successful adaptation, that is
particularly vulnerable to the changes in temperature, rainfall and
extreme weather events associated with climate change.
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• According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
and the Kyoto Protocol , the most industrialized countries are
mainly responsible for causing climate change.
• The promoters of ‘adventure-’ or ‘ecotourism’ have popularized
slogans such as: “Go visit the last paradises… before they’ll be
destroyed by tourist hordes.”
• The British daily The Observer recently suggested that world
travellers need to hurry up if they want to see the ‘10 wonders
of a vanishing world’.
• We can no longer take the most wondrous natural tourist
attractions for granted due to global warming
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Tourism world wakes up to the climate crisis
• Climate is an essential resource for tourism, and especially for beach, nature
and winter sport tourism, and the phenomenon of global warming already
gravely affects the industry and an increasing number of destinations.
• In 2003, the Madrid-based UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
convened the 1st International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism in
Djerba, Tunisia, to help the travel and tourism industry to respond to these
issues.
• The UNWTO, that only a few years ago became a special UN agency, is
traditionally driven by a strong Business Council that aggressively advances
the interests of the world’s most powerful tourism-related corporations.
• That the UNWTO declared climate change a priority issue shows the
growing awareness among industry leaders and policymakers that the
impacts of global warming pose a serious threat to tourism.
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Aviation, cruise ship industry major climate change culprits
• The aviation industry in particular is now facing enormous pressure since
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and environmental
campaign groups have singled out the responsibility of air travel in
accounting for a considerable portion of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Globally, the world’s 16,000 commercial jet planes generate more than 600
million tones of CO2 per year, and India produces 10 million tones of CO2
from all the sectors ranking 5th next to US, China, Russia, Japan.
• The huge increase in aircraft pollution is largely due to the rapid growth of
tourism and related air traffic.
• A WWF (World Wildlife Fund ) briefing paper on ‘Tourism & Climate
Change’ (2001) states that the actual tonnage of CO2 emitted will increase
by over 75 per cent by 2015; concomitantly, from almost 700 million
international travelers in 2000, numbers are expected to jump over one
billion by 2010 and 1.6 billion by 2020.
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• “As a consequence, the role of air travel within the tourism
industry is likely to expand, cause considerable
environmental damage, and to have knock-on effects on the
tourism industry itself,” concludes WWF.
• The worldwide booming cruise ship industry has also come
under fire.
• Cruise ships that can carry up to 5,000 tourists are not only
notorious for creating tremendous amounts of waste and
sewage but also belong to the biggest contributors to
greenhouse gas emissions within the travel and tourism
industry.
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Projections of Climate Change for India
• Indian projections, under future climate change scenario of
increase Green House Gas(GHG) concentrations, indicate
marked increase in both rainfall and temperature into the 21st
century, particularly becoming conspicuous after 2040’s.
• Increase in GHG concentrations may lead to overall increase in
the rainy day intensity by 1-4 mm/day except for small areas in
northwest India where the rainfall intensities decrease by 1
mm/day.
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Forestry and Natural Ecosystems
• The emerging results of analysis of impact of climate
change on forest biomes in India seem to be highly
vulnerable to the projected change in climate.
• Majority of the vegetation in India is likely to be less
optimally adapted to its existing location and
consequently vulnerable to the adverse climatic
changes.
• Biodiversity is also likely to have adverse impact due
to this.
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Human Health
• According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
change (IPCC) in its 4th Assessment Report published
in 2007, human begins are exposed to climate change
through changing weather patterns
– for example, more intense and frequent extreme events and
indirectly through changes in water, air, food quality and
quantity, ecosystems, agriculture and economy.
• Increases in malnutrition and consequent disorders,
with implications for child growth and development
seems other effect on human beings.
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• Particularly those with low adaptive capacity will
suffer in different ways.
• Increase in deaths, disease and injury due to heat
waves, floods, storms, fires and droughts, the
increased burden of diarrheal disease, increased
frequency of cardio-respiratory diseases due to higher
concentrations of ground level ozone related to climate
change and altered spatial distribution of some
infectious- disease vectors.
• Malaria incidences are directly linked to the generation
of vectors which are sensitive to temperature,
precipitation and humidity conditions.
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Infrastructure
• Large infrastructure such as dams, roads, bridges
incurring high costs of construction are vulnerable to
extreme events like cyclones, heavy rains, landslides
and floods, which may increase in the latter half of the
century due to climate change.
• The currently commissioned infrastructure having
lived its normal life span would be more vulnerable to
these recurrent events
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Coastal Zones in India
• The holistic data of sea level reveals high variability along the
Indian coast line with an increase along the Gulf of Kutch and
West Bengal line and decrease along Karnataka coast.
• The observations indicate a long term average rising trend of
1mm/year in sea level and a projection of rise in a sea level in
the range of 46-59 cm by the end of twenty first century.
• The result of preliminary assessment indicates the vulnerability
of Indian coast lines due to sea level rise, tectonic movement,
and prevalent hydrographs and physiographic.
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Effect of global warming on tourism
• Rising temperatures fuelled by greenhouse gases from industry and
agriculture have already shrunk glaciers on the mountains of the
great Himalayas.
• Receding glaciers are affecting the levels of water in rivers. Recent reports
have also brought out that the Ganga is drying up because the Gangotri
glacier, its main source, is receding at the rate of 10 to 30 meters a year.
• While the Ganga is drying up, there are signs now of rising water levels in the
Bhakra Nangal Dam reservoir.
• The melting of glaciers in the Upper Himalayas has been cited as a major
contributor to this.
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• Thanks to the melting Himalayan glaciers, rising sea levels have
submerged two islands in the Sunderbans, where tigers roam
through mangrove forests in the Ganges River delta, and a
dozen more islands are under threat, scientists say.
• The annual number of cyclones has fallen, but they are more
intense now due to global warming and this means more coastal
flooding, erosion and more saline water moving in on the
islands and also in Bangladesh.
• Temperatures have risen by almost one centigrade. It has a
cascading effect on the crops and monsoons as well.
• Goa’s existence from the map would be wiped off if the current
trend of sea-level rise continues.,
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• A scientific study has revealed that around 4.3 per cent of Goa’s 105
kilometer coastline has already been affected by a one meter rise in sea
level, which continues.
• The study also says that 7.3 per cent of Goa’s coastal population is affected
by beach erosion which is also very high compared to other States,
“By 2050 and 2080 if the sea level would rise by 38 and 59 meters
respectively, then Goa would lose maximum percentage of its land and its
population,” an article in the book on ‘Global Warming and Climatic Change’
by Dr Desh Bandhu has claimed.
• God’s own country, Kerala, and its neighboring Lakshadweep Islands have
also become the victims of global warming and climate change. More
worrying is the drastic three degree rise in temperatures in the fragile and
eco-sensitive Lakshadweep Islands.
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• Coral reefs, the most diverse marine habitat that support half-a-million
species, may start losing dominance from Indian seas starting 2030 following
increase in sea temperature, says a new study.
• These and many more such areas like most coastal regions including mega
cities like Mumbai are extremely vulnerable to the effects of global warming.
• Himachal Pradesh's temperature during May was almost as much
as Delhi which disappointed tourists visiting from other parts of North India.
• Tourists came to Himachal to get some time off from boiling temperature in
other parts of India but they found out similar situation in Himachal Pradesh.
• One tourist said that when he first visited Himachal 7-8 years ago in summer,
there was no need of Coolers in Shimla but not they had to turned on their
car AC as they reached Shimla.
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• And its not just Shimla, other tourist spots like Kullu and Manali are
also getting warmer.
• Himachal which has always been first pick for Indian tourists for
summer vacations are now looking for alternatives.
• In past few years temperature has been rising in Himachal Pradesh
and number of tourists in summer is decreasing.
• In summer temperature of Shimla has reached up to 38 degrees
which is quite warm.
• According to experts this is clear sign of Global Warming and they
predicts that temperature will continue to rise in the upcoming years.
• Tour Operators in Himachal are worried because less tourists are
enthusiastic to visit Himachal in summer.
• Stable Kashmir has given them good alternative of Himachal Pradesh.
• Orissa is another state which is already being hit hard by global
warming.
• Whole villages in the coastal regions are disappearing.
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• However this does not mean that the western coastal regions are
immune…just that the eastern coast is more vulnerable at this stage.
• The brilliant white of the Taj Mahal is slowly fading to a sickly yellow, due
to carbon emissions which ultimately lead to global warming. In the
famous “Tajmahal Case” a very strong step was taken by Supreme Court to
save the Taj Mahal.
• Taj being polluted by fumes and more than 200 factories were closed
down.
• Tourism industry fears if temperature continues to rise in the coming years,
summer tourism in Himachal Pradesh could be over.
• Some areas of Himachal like Shimla now does not receive any snowfall and
other hill stations in the state are also getting less snowfall.
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Strategies
• Climate change represents a new challenge for tourism, and
particularly for winter tourism in mountain areas.
• It is not, however, the case that tourism’s initial position will undergo a
sudden, radical change.
• climate change has to be viewed as a catalyst that will reinforce and
accelerate the pace of structural change in the tourist industry and
more clearly highlight the risks and opportunities inherent in tourist
developments even now.
• The emergence of a 2-tier society in the winter tourism sector – a few
resorts and cableway-companies at a high profit and most resorts and
companies unprofitable - will not be due to climate change alone, but
to the general change in a competitive market as well.
R'tist @ Tourism

• On the one hand, we have the top resorts with their already varied and
attractive offers and high snow-reliability and, on the other hand, we have
the smaller locations with their less-extensive developments, less-refined
offers and restricted opportunities for further development
• Since climate change is a relatively long-term development in comparison to
other trends in tourism, tourism managers and tourists will have every
opportunity to adjust to the different constraints and adopt the
corresponding strategies and measures
• One of the most familiar measures in the struggle against snow-deficient
winters is the construction of high cost artificial snowmaking facilities.
• Adopting a fatalistic attitude towards climate change and its impacts should
not be considered as a true strategy in this respect.
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• Such attitudes are manifested by the fact that neither suppliers
nor consumers alter their behavior.
• This could also be described by using the term ‘business as
usual’.
• Another approach that can be classified under the heading of
‘fatalism’ is when tourist transport facilities that were used for
winter sports are closed down and dismantled without any
attempt at promoting and reinforcing other types of tourism – in
other words, when withdrawal from ski tourism is not actively
planned.
• A fatalistic attitude of this type is most readily evident amongst
the operators of small, isolated ski-lifts at lower altitudes who
experienced severe financial difficulties as a result of the snow-
deficient winters.
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What’s next?
• We can certainly expect more heated debates on climate change and
tourism in the coming months.
• It is urgent that civic movements concerned with climate change
issues monitor and respond to these ongoing activities because travel
and tourism is one of the world’s most omnipotent industries, not
only because of its size and growth but also as a driver of globalization
and trade liberalization.
• Tourism organisations should pay more attention to the problems of
tourism-related climate change issues in their action plans and help
lobby industry, governments, and intergovernmental agencies to take
more decisive steps to curb relentless tourism expansion that
exacerbates the climate change crisis.
• Global warming is a challenge for the tourism industry in mountain
areas. But warmer temperatures and a longer summer season are of
minor importance.
• Over all, climate change is a threat for mountain tourism, Island
tourism and Coastal tourism due to less snow, less glaciers, rise in sea
levels, submerging of Islands and even more extreme events (e.g.
landslides).
R'tist @ Tourism

• Winter tourism and mountain tourism depends on good snow
conditions and is highly sensitive to snow-deficient winters.
• Climate research findings show that there will be an increase in
the number of winters with little snow on account of climate
change. The tourism representatives should not just sit back idly
in the face of climate change.
• They are reacting to the deteriorating snow conditions and the
changes in demand.
• Measures like especially artificial snowmaking to maintain ski
tourism and creating artificial beaches like the Promenade
beach, Pondicherry to maintain beach tourism rank at the
forefront.
• Tourists demand good snow conditions, good coastal areas and
hence, this is what has to be offered that is artificial.
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• In any case, the impacts of climate change will involve
significant costs for tourism.
• One of the most important questions will be, how young people
would face situations, if there is only little snow in mountain
regions, if there are no coastal areas and proper beaches, if
islands are submerged and monuments like Taj Mahal
deteriorates.
• And isn’t it the time for tourism community to act and sustain
Indian tourism to present it to the upcoming generations, it is
my duty, your duty and our duty to protect tourist attractions
from global warming and the best way will be minimizing the
emission of gases causing global warming and fighting pollution.
• At once, may be difficult but… as said… let the charity start from
our home…
R'tist @ Tourism

• More cooperative efforts to combat the negative impacts of climate change
should be made by the academic community, development aid agencies and
NGOs that are specifically concerned with tourism development.
• The Indian NGO Equations (Equitable Tourism Options) made a good start
when it released a ‘Call for Action on Climate Change, Biodiversity and
Tourism’ on occasion of the International Biodiversity Day on 22 May 2007’.
• Gujarat Forest Department manage a “Social Forestry Programme” for
planting trees on non-forest lands and became a pioneer to improve Green
Cover of the state.
• The objectives were to increase the number of trees in Gujarat, promoting
the participation of people and institutions to grow trees, make use of
unproductive land to productive use apart from many other areas that called
for attention towards sustainable growth.
• Managing Climate Change is a major challenge to humanity. To tackle it,
Gujarat has established a separate Department for Climate Change.
• This Initiative by Gujarat Government is a trendsetter not only for India but
for the whole of Asia as it is the “First in Asia” with a Department for Climate
Change.
• It is the only 4th State/Province in the World to have a Department for
Climate Change.
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• Among other things, it called on the tourism industry to come up
with an authentic response to climate change.
• “The responsibility of seeking viable and sustainable solutions to
avert the climate crisis must take into account particularly the
plight of the most vulnerable communities around the world.”
• As a sector of the economy that is severely affected by climate
change, however, tourism needs to focus more on mitigation
strategies in its own best interests.
• This holds particularly true for the traffic generated by national
and international tourism and, above all, for air traffic.
• Tourist development and tourist projects not only need to be
verified and evaluated in terms of their social and environmental
sustainability but must also be assessed from the climate-
compatibility angle.
R'tist @ Tourism

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