Tourism, Climate Change and Sustainability

This book addresses many of the key themes that are seen as challenges to achieve sustainability and to mitigate climate change impacts in the near future, as applied to the tourism sector. In particular it focuses on the economic drivers for growth in tourism as they relate to sustainable development, low-carbon travel and climate change impacts. A major feature is the integration of climate change and sustainability challenges, rather than treating them separately or with sustainability as an add-on or merely paid lip-service to. The first group of chapters addresses conceptual issues concerning the relationships between sustainability, climate change and tourism. The second section considers regional, national and international responses and initiatives, including those of agencies such as the World Tourism Organization and UNESCO biosphere reserves and world heritage sites. The third part provides a range of investigative research, including topics such as air travel and coral reef tourism, and case studies from locations such as Southern Africa, Scandinavia, the Maldives and the Pacific islands. Other examples discussed in the book are drawn from Hawaii, England, Australia and New Zealand. Overall, the book focuses on some of the most crucial issues facing sustainable tourism today.