International Tourism and Climate Change - Essay Example

International Tourism and Climate Change [Name] [Institutional Affiliation] [Date] Table of Contents Executive summary 3 Introduction  3 International Tourism and Environmental change 4 How international tourism affects climate change 5 Effect of Global Warming on International Tourism 6 The Impacts of Environmental Change on International Tourism over the next ten Years 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Executive summary Research studies in the 80s and early 90s focused so much on the impact of climate change on tourism. However; in the past two decades there has been a great concern to find out how tourism contributes to climate change. Both domestic and international tourism contribute to environment change in a number of ways. Currently, there is a growing concern to develop and promote tourism that is sensitive to the environment. Being cognizant of the fact that international tourism affects climate change this report examines how international tourism impacts on environment change. In addition, it evaluates how environment change is likely to influence international tourism in the next ten years Introduction  Tourism has experienced exponential growth over years. In developing countries, the tourism sector is growing rapidly. In the world today, the tourism sector is going through a series of changes and growth. The developing countries have laid many strategies to improve this sector as it is imperative in alleviating poverty and creating a number of businesses and employment opportunities. Despite the fact that tourism has adverse negative effects there has been little attention to the effects of tourism on environment and climate change. Smith et al., (2001) indicate that studies on climate change have deliberately ignored the role that tourism plays on climate change. However, a few researchers like Maddison (2001) have attempted to construct statistical models on how the behavior patterns of some sets of tourists is pegged on climatic and weather changes function of climate and weather. The purpose of this report is to discuss how intеrnаtiоnаl tourism has соntributеd to сlimаtе сhаngе. The report begins by defining international tourism and environmental change. The report then discusses how international tourism influences climate change, especially climate change. In addition, it discusses how changes in the climate affect tourism and the impact of climatic changes on international tourism in the next ten years. International Tourism and Environmental change International tourism refers to a form of tourism where tourists travel outside their native country to another country (other than theirs) for leisure and enjoyment (Baron, 1983). International tourism entails both outbound and inbound tourism. Outbound tourism refers to the activities of resident visitors outside the borders of the country of reference. In inbound tourism, the non-resident tourists carry out activities in the country of reference. On the other hand, environmental change refers to disturbance or change of the environment that is occasioned by human activities or natural processes (Matthews,2014).Environmental change includes things like interference by humans, animal interaction and natural disasters like earthquakes(Matthews,2014).The tourist activities entail interaction between human beings and the natural beings, human beings and animals.If tourism is to thrive, a high quality environment is imperative.In a similar manner, quality of the environment is depended on how well tourism activities are carried out. Thus, the type of relationship existing between them is symbiotic. Without the environment, tourism activities cannot take place. That is why any slight disturbance in the environment adversely affects tourism activities. How international tourism affects climate change As illustrated earlier, there is interdependence between the environment and tourism activities. Decrease in tourism activities in some countries has largely been caused by poor quality of the environment. For instance, international tourism in Mexico in the 90s was negatively affected due to air pollution (Ceballos-Lascurain, 1996).In a similar manner; there exists serious impacts of international tourism on the environment. Skanavis et al. (2004), identify two types’ relationships that exist between the environment and international tourism. International tourism and the environment can relate symbiotically or in a competitive manner. While a symbiotic relationship fosters harmonious relationship between the environment and tourism, the latter provokes hazards to the environment. For instance, the escalating demand to improve and invest in international tourism has catapulted to rise in demand for land. In developing countries there is increasing demand for land so as to develop tourist resorts, hotels, restaurants, camping sites and other facilities geared at attracting more and more tourists. However, when this is not regulated it often degenerates into deforestation. The act of cutting down trees deliberately affects the environment in a number of ways. On one hand, it eliminates the natural habitat for birds and animals. On the other hand, it reduces the ability of the ecosystem to take in CO2 from the atmosphere. Dubois (2005) notes that there is increased energy consumption allied to growing international tourism. There are more and more people flying from one country to the other as tourists. The number of flights taken in a day has gone up meaning that there is a sharp increase in the emissions to the environment from use of jet fuel. At the same time, there is also an increase in the emission to the atmosphere due to road travels by tourists in the reference country. It is also important to note that construction and infrastructural activities equally consume lot energy and emit gases to the environment. When these gases get into the atmosphere they destroy the ozone layer giving way to ultra-violet rays to reach the earth’s surface. Effect of Global Warming on International Tourism The key determinant for the choice of tourist destinations by tourists is climate (Bigano et al., 2007b).A change in the climate induces tourism flows especially from area of low altitudes to higher altitudes and latitudes (Hamilton et al.,2005a,b).Thus, a sustainable relationship between tourism activities and the environment is inescapable. Skanavis et al. (2004), insists that a harmonious relationship between international tourism and the environment is necessary for ecological sustainability. International tourism in the past few decades has been faced with adverse effects of global warming. High temperatures in mountainous regions inhibit formation of ice that is necessary for sporting activities like skating. For instance, the French Alps prides in receiving thousands of tourists who go there to do sporting activities. If such sports are non-existent such areas are likely to lose an inflow of tourists. On the other hand, when temperatures raise other regions that used to experience relatively normal temperatures are subjected to very high temperatures that discourage tourism. The whole ecosystem is negatively affected by global warming and consequently international tourism. The high temperatures occasioned by global warming lead to drying up of water sources. Wild animals living in areas prone to high temperatures will move to regions with favorable climactic conditions and this can alter or reduce the flow of international tourists. Birds and wildlife can die due to famine. Global warming has also affected the kind of activities that tourists can engage in. Sporting activities in the coastal region can be hindered by the rise in the sea level-occasioned by high temperatures. There is a remarkable fall in the number of tourists frequenting experiencing rise in the sea level. The activities carried out by human beings on the earth’s surface can cause global warming. Tourism being one of them, it is susceptible to provoke global warming. As noted earlier, the demand for land, infrastructural activities, travelling by road and jets increases carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. The Impacts of Environmental Change on International Tourism over the next ten Years  If the current environmental changes are not mitigated there is a likelihood of having adverse negative effects on international tourism. Firstly, international tourism in the next ten years will be characterized by a shift in flows from one region to the other. This is related to the change in climatic conditions. Some wildlife is susceptible to move to regions with favorable climatic conditions. Consequently, tourists who travel to specific areas to see certain animals may be forced to change their destination. Secondly, it is certain that the current tourist destinations may experience a down fall in the number of visitors while others may increase the number of tourists. As seen in the recent past, tourists from the USA and Greece increasingly prefer destinations that are sensitive to ecological sustainability .In addition; there is a likelihood of change in policies regarding international tourism. More interest is certain to be vested in development of international tourism that is ecologically sustainable. Stringent measures are going to be put in place to ensure that infrastructural development does not lead to degradation of the environment. Thus, tourism is projected to be slightly expensive than it is right now. Escalating charges occasioned by such developmental policies are projected to impact negatively on growth and development of tourism. Conclusion In summary the report has discussed extensively how intеrnаtiоnаl tourism has соntributеd to сlimаtе сhаngе. The report begins by giving the defining both international tourism and environmental change. The report further examines how international tourism influences environmental change, especially climate change. In addition, it discusses how global warming (as a climatic change) impacts on international tourism. Finally, the report evaluates the impact of climatic change on international tourism in the next ten years. It is, further, imperative to promote symbiotic and ecologically sustainable relationships between international tourism and the environment. References Baron, R. R. (1983).Special Report no 48.International tourism.Research and Problems.  Ceballos-Lascurain, H. (1996). Tourism, ecotourism and protected areas, IUCN- TheWorl Conservation Union, Switzerland. Dubois, G. (2005). Indicators for an environmental assessment of tourism at national level. Current Issues in Tourism. Bigano, A. Hamilton, J.M. &Tol, R.S.J. (2007b).The impact of climate change on domestic and international tourism: A simulation study. The Integrated Assessment Journal. Hamilton, J.M., Maddison, D.J. &Tol, R.S.J. (2005a). Climate change and international tourism: A simulation study. Global Environmental Change, Maddison, D., 2001. In search of warmer climates? The impact of climate change on flows of British tourists. Climatic Change . Matthews, J. A. (2014). Encyclopedia of environmental change. Skanavis, C., Matsinos, Y. &Petreniti, V. (2004).Environmental Education Potential for Greek Ecotourism. International Journal of Environmental Studies, Vol. 61, Smith et al.,(2001) Climate Change ,Impacts,Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Read More