Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3.2.5 Holiday Travels and Cherry Blossom Festivals
Whilst much effort has been made to communicate to the public the importance of
reducing carbon footprints in the home, one area where emissions are growing
rapidly and little attempt has been made to increase consumer understanding of the
impacts is holidays, particularly those involving air travel. Using focus group
research, this paper explores tourists' awareness of the impacts of travel on climate
change, examines the extent to which climate change features in holiday travel
decisions and identifies some of the barriers to the adoption of less carbon-
intensive tourism practices. The findings suggest that many tourists do not consider
climate change when planning their holidays. The failure of tourists to engage with
the climate change impact of holidays, combined with significant barriers to
behavioural change, presents a considerable challenge in moving the tourism
industry onto a sustainable emissions path. The findings are discussed in relation to
theoretical perspectives from psychology and sociology (Hares et al.
2010
).
Most global climate change models predict serious ecological and social
problems. In Japan, biologists have found climate change is affecting species and
ecosystems, including the earlier flowering time of cherry trees that are an
important cultural symbol in Japan. Cherry blossom festivals are also important to
local economies. This study explored the perceptions of Japanese residents
regarding climate change impacts on culturally significant events such as flower
timing of cherry trees. Sakurai et al. (
2011
) conducted interviews of stakeholders
of three cherry blossom festivals, including sixteen organisers of festivals and 26
managers of festival-dependent businesses, to understand their awareness, attitudes
and behaviours towards global climate change and impacts on cherry blossom
festivals. Most organisers of the festival in Kakunodate were concerned about
global warming and its impact on cherry blossom times while organisers of fes-
tivals in Nakano and Komoro felt it was unimportant if flower timing affected the
festival schedule. Most (92 %) managers of festival-dependent businesses men-
tioned that global warming is occurring and affecting the flower timing of cherry
trees, but there were diverse perceptions of global warming impacts on their
business. Managers more dependent on income from cherry blossom festivals
indicated greater concern for the effects of climate change (Sakurai et al.
2011
).
As example, micro-level factors are more exhaustively described in the following
sub-chapter (see Energy-Efficient House Decision Support Sub-system for Africa).
