Effects of Travelers on Climate Change - Coursework Example

RSОNАL RЕFLЕСTIVЕ JОURNАL By: Name: Tutor: Subject: City: Date РЕRSОNАL RЕFLЕСTIVЕ JОURNАL Effects of travelers on climate change Tourists are forming the largest number of travelers where their activities are affecting climate in numerous ways. Many tourists both local and international are visiting most of the places where their activities have been affecting the environment. Considering the fact that the number of tourists will increase where by the year 2020 the number of tourists will reach 1.8 billion (Bord and Fisher, 2009). This is an indication that there is the need to come up with new rules geared toward ensuring that the travelers can positively impact the environment. Currently, most of the tourist's destinations are being exploited as the number has continuously been growing to put some pressure on the available resources in the destinations. The increasing number of travelers coming to Australia is increasing concerns due to the climate change. The great concerns are due to the emission in their traveling activities that pose the danger to the environment by increasing the level of climate change through the emitted greenhouse gasses by their vehicles. There is the need to come up with regulation to govern the emissions of the vehicles used by the travelers to ensure that their traveling activities do not result in climate change. For instance, mass tourism has posed some challenges to climate change because it has not been done in a sustainable manner. Many of the mass travelers touring various destinations have been affecting the natural environment through activities that are harmful to the natural environment. For instance, their unsustainable activities have been destroying the environment through emission of toxic gasses, where around 5% of the green gasses responsible for climate changes are coming from traveling activities (Becken, 2004). The travelers need to ensure that they conserve the environment through ensuring that their traveling activities are sustainable and making use of vehicles that are fuel effect hence limiting the emission of harmful gasses. The link between the travelers and climate change Many travelers can be questioning the link that does exist between their traveling activities with the climate change. But in reality, there is a close link between the traveling activities and climate change. For instance, the change in climate has been affecting the choice of the destinations of the travelers such as islands, mountains, beaches among other destinations. The demand for the destinations then affect the conservations efforts as some traveling activities tend to harm the environment in various ways that can include the destruction of forest cover and increase levels of toxic gasses in the atmosphere (McDaniel, Axelrod, and Slovic, 2006). The efforts of conservation are affected by the choices of the destinations, the nature of activities participated at the destination. In the process of ensuring sustainable tourism, it is crucial to ensure that some of the revenues generated from the ecotourism activities are dedicated to the conservation efforts of the destinations. This can involve planning more trees and other activities that can ensure that the destinations are conserved to retain their original state before the activities of the travelers. The changes in climate are also affecting the distribution of the wild animals in the parks hence affecting the travelers as some choose parks as their traveling destinations. The efforts of conserving species have also been affected by the increased numbers of travelers in most of the destinations where the activities of the travelers are likely to destroy some plant species. The destruction of the plant species do lead to climate changes as the destruction of the forest cover has also contributed to the climate change (Bord and Fisher, 2009). In most of the destinations, there are no efforts put towards planarian more trees creating some high possibilities of climate change increase in future. Therefore, there has been a link between climate change and traveler where the activities of the travelers can result in climate change if they are not sustainable. The attitudes of the travelers towards climate change The attitude of the Australian travelers has been changing as they are now placing some benefits of ensuring sustainable traveling activities. The traveler is now becoming more concerned about their activities toward climate changes. This is because of the have been put in place in the process of ensuring that the climate change addressed globally. Some travelers in Australia a participating in volunteer conservation tourism where they advocate for enforcement of the legislations geared towards ensuring sustainable tourism. The change in the attitude of the traveler has played a crucial role in the efforts of managing climate change (Brons, et al. 2002). Many travelers are now becoming responsible in the way in their travel activities where they are ensuring that the activities do not harm the environment. Besides, many of the travelers due to their positive attitude towards ensuring sustainable traveling activities are now willing and ready to assist in the implementation of the legislations geared towards ensuring proper managing of the environment. However, the government is responsible for developing a positive attitude of the travelers toward ensuring sustainability. For instance, the government needs to ensure that there is an equitable distribution of benefits and transparency in the engagement of the relevant stakeholders in the process of managing climate change. The stakeholder is crucial in the implementation process of the strategies geared towards ensuring that there is sustainability hence ensuring that they are properly engaged is crucial (Carlsson and Hammar, 2002). As a result of engagement of the travelers can cultivate a positive attitude towards conserving the environments in the process of managing the increasing changes in climate. The travelers can become more sustainable by making travel choices that are more responsible hence ensuring that they conserve the environment. Strategies that can be employed by travelers in responding positively to climate change Travelers can play a crucial role in the process of affecting the climate change positively through adopting some strategies. Through the strategies, they can be in a position to make some adjustment of their traveling activities in the process of positively responding to climate change. The response can involve changing their attitude towards ensuring the protection of the environment in the process of managing climate change that has become an issue of global concerns. The government of Australia also need to come up with strategies can be of help in the mitigation of the climate change through educating the travelers on the best ways of ensuring sustainability and management of the climate change. This can entail educating the travelers concerning the best traveling practices that can assist in ensuring climate change is controlled (Fairweather, Maslin, and Simmons, 2005). The tourism sector in Australia has been flexible and dynamic enough to assist in the implementation of the new strategies of controlling climate change. As a result, the industry has been working towards ensuring that some adaptive measures of ensuring suitability in the traveling activities have been put in place. However, in the process of adopting environmental strategies that need to be adopted to control climate change, there is the need to ensure consideration of the various interests of the stakeholders. Besides, the measures need to consider the effects of the climate change due to factors that can include increased changes in temperatures and rainfall. The engagement of the stakeholders has been among the strategies that Australia has been adopting in the process of tackling the changes in climatic conditions (Bord and Fisher, 2009). The engagement has assisted the government in the process of coming up with the best measures of ensuring that traveling activities are made environmental friendly hence assisting in managing the increasing climatic change caused by environmental degradation. Challenges facing climate change management efforts of the travelers Despite the fact that the travelers have shown some efforts of minimizing the activities that can result in climate change, their efforts are facing numerous challenges. These challenges can include limited knowledge among the travelers concerning climate change making them fail in the implementation of the measures geared towards ensuring that climate change is controlled. The government of Australia has not been actively participating in the process of educating the travelers on the ways of minimizing climate change (Brons, et al. 2002). Besides, the travelers in Australia have not been provided with the necessary information concerning climate change making them lack them necessary knowledge in the process of managing climate change. The lack of awareness concerning climate change and its effects has then been among the major challenges facing the efforts of the travelers towards reducing the effects of climate change. Also, there has been inadequate planning for future climate change management measures aimed at controlling the negative effects of climate change. Therefore, there has been the need for urgent education to the travelers concerning climate changes and its effects to assist them in the process of working toward reducing the effects of climate changes. Through educating, concerning climate changes the travelers will be in a positioning implement the strategies necessary for ensuring proper management of the climate change. This can entail assessing their traveling activities whether they are in a position to ensure the protection of the environment hence assisting in reducing the effects of climate change. Travelers are among the stakeholders who are crucial in the management of climate change as most of their traveling actives have a direct impact on climate (Fairweather, Maslin, and Simmons, 2005). It can, therefore, be of great importance to ensure that the policy makers do engage the travelers in the implementation process where they can ensure that the travelers are part of the process to ensure successful implementation of the climate change management policies. Enabling travelers to affect climate change positive Enabling Australian travelers as become an important way of developing attitude among the traveler that can assist in positively affecting climate change. Research has shown that cultivating a positive attitude among the travelers towards managing climate changes can be crucial in ensuring that the traveling activities are in a position to positively influence climate change. The climate change has not only affecting traveling activities in tourism sector but also other sectors like the manufacturing industry as well as agriculture, and other sectors which provide services. Climate change has been affecting Australian economy development in various ways due to the resulting broad multiplier impacts for both economic implications and social implications (Henry, 2000). There are various aspects which the travelers usually consider during their traveling time and also which need to be perfected to enable the travelers to positively impact on the climate changes. These aspects include; technological innovations which include the development of a low-cost air travel. Also the utilization of the sophisticated applications which assist travelers on issues related to online researching and also booking their travel tickets. Moreover, the cheap flights have made it easy for the millions of individuals to travel beyond their border and as well access the horizons, tastes and also the expectations of their generation in the current world. In general view, individuals like traveling and that is why the tourism industry has remained resilient trying to settle down the challenges which face the travelers and which include; natural disasters, diseases and also insecurity issues such as terrorist attack (Kempton, 2001). However, the dream of affordable travel for all travelers has been obscured with by the climate change, an increase in fuel prices and a responsible traveling are set to have an impact on how people understand and manage their holiday plans. Contributions of travelers to climate change Travelers have a direct influence on the factors leading to climate change where the traveling activities have been contributing to climate changes different. The relationship that does exist between climate change and the traveling sector is that climate changes impacts on traveling while the traveling itself have got effects on the climate change too. The first relationship involves adaptation measures which include; seasons, activities of the traveling, and investment in the new air conditioning systems. The second relationship concerns the measures which are taken to reduce the levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, traveling activities have mostly contributed towards the climate change rather than making contributions towards the global economy (Brons, et al. 2002). Therefore, the traveling is an eco-inefficient sector which greatly results into global warming. Also, the traveling sector is coming up with a high dependency on energy transport activities with many comfortable accommodations and thus contributes to the decrease in eco-efficiency. Some traveling activities have been causing pollution to the environment leading to increased effects of the climate change. For instance, the traveling activities can result in the emission of poisonous gasses that result in climate changes affecting the normal climatic conditions. Most of the traveler's trips are somehow eco-efficient because the largest percentage of trips made by the travelers usually contributes just a small percentage of the greenhouse gas emissions. However, some travelers are polluting the traveling destinations leading to climate change (Becken, 2004). The people who are traveling are mostly faced with various choices for increasing their individual contribution towards global warming through their number of travels they make per day, rather than considering the options in which they can reduce this personal contribution. The technology for moderating the greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the energy efficiency usually offer the best chance for the traveler's contribution. The effects of climate change on the traveling behavior Climate change has been affecting the travel behavior as the traveling decisions and choices are mainly affecting by various climatic factors. The climate changes are key factors which usually determine the behavior of the travelers concerning their movements. The climate change, influence the activities of the travelers such as their participation, their satisfaction, and also their safety while they are traveling. Therefore, some considerable measures have been taken on the climate changes as a destination attributes (Shaw and Thomas, 2006). One of the measures taken is coming up with the advertisement materials in which the relevant climate changes can be analyzed to determine the best time for traveling, in accordance with the climatic conditions in the home countries of the tourists. The interaction which exists between the climate changes and the traveling has been marked by the responses to the climate change concerns for several years. However, the changes which usually occur in the destination attraction about the climatic parameters and also the changes in the climate-induced the changes in the environment, as it has been the case for various scenarios for climate changes. The changes in climate usually mark various temporal scales concerning the same phenomenon which is that climate is an average weather of a certain place, and these scales are of great interest to the travelers at different times when they are traveling (Carlsson and Linden, 2009). For instance, the climate is very important aspect which is considered in the planning stages of a trip, while the weather forecasts are made of use during the trip. Also, some studies have tried to measure the optimum climatic conditions for a certain tourist activity, through the use of climate recreation indices. Climate changes mitigation strategies There are some mitigation strategies that can be adopted in the process of addressing the issue of climate changes in Australia. The mitigation and adaptation of the measures geared toward mitigation the effects of climate changes need to ensure stakeholder engagement to ensure effectiveness in the process of implementing the measures. However, in the process of mitigating the effects of climate changes it is crucial to ensure some changes that can include social changes and economic changes that be employed in the process of reducing the gas emission leading to climate change (Becken, 2004). Research has shown that human activities are the primary causes of climate change as their activities have been leading to increasing in the emission of carbon dioxide. Besides, there are other human activities such as destruction of the forests that have also contributed to the current increased climate change. Some of the traveling activities are leading to pollution of the environment as some traveler destroys vegetation at the various destinations they travel contributing to the persistence of climate change. The strategies employed in the process of mitigating the effects of climate change differ depending on the scenarios of the climate change. It is the role of the government to assess the level of climate change in the various destinations and come up with the most suitable measures that can assist in managing climate change. Besides, the government has the responsibility of ensuring that the measures are properly implemented to ensure management of the increasing climate change (Lee, Lim, and Raper, 2005). Changing the transport behavior can be one of the most important ways of conserving the environment through reducing the emission of the toxic gasses contributing to the climate change. Besides, choosing destinations that are not far and making use of video conferencing for most of the business tourism can help manage climate change. Measures that can be adopted by travelers to manage change Travelers need to ensure that the make use of energy efficient vehicles that do ensure little emission of the carbon dioxide to the environment. This can be possible by ensuring that there are policies that do control the level of emission of the toxic gasses from the vehicles where emission limit need to be established by the relevant authority. Besides, making use of the large capacity vehicle during traveling can be crucial in reducing the pollution of the environment through the emissions of the greenhouse gasses responsible for climate change. Making use of air transport in traveling can also assist in reducing the emission common in the use of vehicles by travelers (Gossling and Peeters, 2007). Developing environmental oriented tourism can be crucial in conserving the natural environment. The environmental oriented tourism can assist in ensuring that the traveling activities do consider their impacts to climate change. This can play a crucial role in making travelers responsible in the process of participating in the traveling activities. The travelers can further affect climate change positively through eliminating GHG emissions through circumventing the activities which can be possibly avoided while ensuring that no change in the traveling experience. Also, substituting some traveling activities with the ones that have low carbon footprint aiming at reducing the negative effects of the traveling activities on the environment. The major stakeholders in the process of ensuring that the traveling activities do ensure environmental sustainability can include operators, resorts and hotels (Carlsson and Linden, 2009). Ensuring these stakeholders work together in the process of managing the harmful traveling activities is crucial in achieving sustainable traveling activities that are environmental friendly. Therefore, travelers can only be in a position to ensure proper management of climate changes through ensuring proper engagement of the other relevant stakeholders. References Becken, S. 2004. How tourists and tourism experts perceive climate change and forest carbon sinks. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 12 (4), 332–345. Bord, R.J. and Fisher, A. 2009. 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