How Climate Change Is Affecting Tourism

Written by Travel Pulse

Climate change is of great concern for the tourism industry and there are several reasons why, as illustrated in a new report from GreenBiz.

“More than many other industries, tourism relies on a stable climate, whether attracting customers to lavish lakes, bountiful beaches or majestic mountains,” notes Mike Hower.

More extreme weather has the ability to wreak havoc on the travel industry.

“Even if the world follows through on its landmark commitments outlined in the Paris Agreement, we’ve already reached a point of no return. We still may avoid the worst impacts if we get our act together, but significant damage already has been done enough to forecast unpredictable weather into the foreseeable future,” Hower reports.

While warming may be okay for some destinations for a while, the overall effects will not be beneficial.  Hower points to California’s Lake Tahoe region as an example of how climate change is already having an impact on tourism.

“A lack of snowfall tied to California’s climate change-perpetuated drought led to several years of record-low attendance at ski resorts, which in turn harmed restaurants, hotels and other businesses accustomed to servicing customers drawn by snow sports,” he writes.

This has given rise to concerns that the ski industry may not be sustainable in the Sierras as the weather becomes more unpredictable.

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