Awareness of the Impacts of Climate Change on Tourism Demand

Project description

The global challenges posed by climate change are multifaceted and will continue to intensify as global warming progresses. Climate change has negative impacts on nature and people that go beyond natural climate variability and are, in some cases, irreversible, as both natural and human systems are being strained beyond their capacity to adapt. The direct and indirect effects of climate change will also impact tourism and bring about changes in the supply factors of destinations. Some of the changes induced by the various pathways of climate change are already observable today, such as shifts in average weather conditions or damage to ecosystems and infrastructure.

While tourism market research has for many years included studies on consumer awareness and demand trends regarding sustainable vacations, there has been no systematic analysis to date of how climate change-related changes in destinations are perceived from the demand side, nor of possible behavioral responses among the German population in terms of decision-making and travel behavior. This research project is dedicated to investigating these relationships.

The project is part of Charlotte Bellmann’s proposed doctoral research at the European University of Flensburg (primary advisor: Professor Dr. Bernd Eisenstein).