Tourism, Climate Change and Development - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 332

11 Tourism, Climate Change and

Development

C. Michael Hall, Daniel Scott and
Stefan Gössling

Introduction

Climate change is both a consequence of development and affects devel-
opment. The short and long-term economic, ecological, health and welfare
risks that climate change poses to human well-being are now acknowledged
in scientific, policy and business circles and, increasingly, by those that are
impacted by climatic shifts and high-magnitude weather events. Climate
change is, therefore, a key development issue (e.g. Global Humanitarian
Forum, 2009; IPCC, 2007, 2012; Kok et al. , 2008; Willis, 2011). Similarly, for
many countries, tourism has the potential to contribute to economic growth
and development (e.g. Hall & Lew, 2009; Telfer & Sharpley, 2008), and is
promoted as a potential means of achieving the Millennium Development
Goals (MDG), including poverty reduction (e.g. UNWTO, 2006b; World
Travel and Tourism Council [WTTC], 2004; World Economic Forum [WEF],
2008). However, development is an extremely contested term (Willis, 2011),
while the manner in which climate change is framed and therefore how
it should be addressed, is increasingly being seen as being socially construc-
ted (Demeritt, 2001, 2006; Nielsen & Sejersen, 2012; O'Brien et al. , 2010;
Wainwright, 2010). The interrelationships between tourism, development
and climate change therefore presents a significant policy dilemma for many
countries, institutions and agencies (Dubois et al. , 2011; Gössling et al. , 2009),
particularly with respect to the capacity to decarbonise tourism in light of
concerns over emissions (Gössling et al. , 2013). Given the sector's emission
intensity and overall growth, this leads to significant challenges with respect
to its management, regulation and long-term development prospects, as any
mitigation policy is likely to affect tourist mobility and tourism development
(UNWTO, UNEP and WMO, 2008).

332