Climate change from the perspective of tourism geography

Abstract

Climate change has without doubt emerged as one of the most prominent issues attracting the world’s attention. The phenomenon has been addressed also in tourism research since 1980s, with tourism geographers in the front line. In Finland, however, little attention was devoted to climate change-related tourism research until the 21st century, which may seem odd considering the importance of climate-dependent nature-based tourism in the country. At present, there are, nevertheless, several research projects addressing climate change from the standpoint of tourism. The interactive nature and complexity of the interrelationship between tourism and climate change force researchers to consider a quantity of issues and to define their roles carefully in pursuit of an ideal and objective study design. One of the most problematic issues in tourism – climate change research is undoubtedly the balancing act between the two phenomena – is the emphasis put on the vulnerability of tourism to climatic changes or on the contribution of tourism to climate change in the form of greenhouse gas emissions.