Climate change and tourism in Switzerland: impacts, vulnerability and possible adaptation measures

À propos de ce résultat

Cette page est générée automatiquement et peut contenir des informations qui ne sont pas correctes, complètes, à jour ou pertinentes par rapport à votre recherche. Il en va de même pour toutes les autres pages de ce site. Veillez à vérifier les informations auprès des sources officielles de l'EPFL.

Climate Change and Tourism in Switzerland : Impacts, Vulnerability and Possible Adaptation Measures

Cecilia Matasci

Climate change is a global phenomenon, but its effects occur on a local scale. An example is provided by tourism. Tourism is closely interlinked with climate change both as culprit and as victim. On the one hand, it is responsible for a large portion of GHG emissions from leisure-related transport and high energy consumption in the accommodation and activity sectors. On the other hand, sea level rise, snow pack reduction, glaciers melting, increase of frequency of natural hazards, among other negative impacts, both modify tourism flow and damage infrastructures. This will lead to many regions and nations to become more vulnerable and fragile. One of the concerned regions is the Alpine chain and its villages. The Alpine region is highly affected by climate change (snow pack reduction, glaciers and permafrost melting, increase in flood, landslides, and rock falls events). Because this region is highly dependant on the tourism sector for its subsistence and that the tourism sector is highly dependant on climate conditions and on the frequency of natural hazards, it is essential to reduce vulnerability and starting implementing adaptation measures. In order to do so, it is important to define which areas face which problems and to recognize vulnerability hot spots. This motivation comes from the prospect that the greatest environmental, social and economic damages are likely to be concentrated in vulnerable areas. This article presents an overview of the stand of the knowledge on the impacts, the vulnerability and the possible adaptation measures of the tourism sector in relation to climate change. It also presents a methodology which will allow assessing this vulnerability, referring in particular to the Swiss situation. The methodology consists in the conception of a vulnerability map, in which the exposure, the sensitivity and the adaptive capacity of the different tourism regions are depicted. For these three dimensions of vulnerability considered, indicators have been chosen, and will – in a second time – be weighted and combined. The map created in the frame of this study will eventually allow assessing where it is more important to start implementing adaptation measures. In addition, it will permit to assess if there are similarities between different areas and therefore where the implementation of collaboration and information sharing could be enhanced. Moreover, results will indicate who could benefit from climate change (from example, tourism could profit in some part of the Alps from the relative coolness and freshness in the hotter months of the year). The subject of this work is of particular relevance due to the vulnerability of the sector in regard to climate change, to the importance of tourism for the Swiss economy, to the lack of studies on the subject on a national and regional level, and in a broad context due to the urgent need for more detailed assessments of adaptation costs.

Innsbruck University Press2009

The vulnerability of Switzerland towards climate change : the case of tourism

Juan Carlos Altamirano Cabrera, Cecilia Matasci

Tourism is one of the main sources of income in many Swiss Alpine regions. But this industry is highly sensitive to climate conditions. Then, tourism in the Alpine region is effectively affected (both positively and negatively) by climate change and people have to adapt to the changing conditions. In which regions impacts are actually happening and to what extent? Mapping vulnerability appears to be an appropriate method to answer these questions. In this paper, we set the fundaments to apply this mapping tool. Furthermore, we describe the impacts of climate change affecting tourism in Switzerland and we list the indicators that will help in depicting vulnerability. The subject of this work is of particular relevance due to the vulnerability of the sector in regard to climate change, to the importance of tourism for the Swiss economy, to the lack of studies on the subject on a national and regional level, and in general due to the urgent need for more detailed assessments of adaptation costs.

2010

Swiss tourism in the age of climate change

Cecilia Matasci

This thesis analyses the impacts of climate change on Swiss tourism. It looks in particular at the regional vulnerability, adaptation, and barriers that hinder this process. The final goal of the work is to make a contribution in bringing about a smoother shift to a more sustainable tourism sector better adapted to the changing conditions. In the first part, the thesis examines the regional vulnerability of Swiss tourism to climate change for a 2030-2050 time horizon in order to define which regions are most in need of taking action. We analyzed in particular the impacts generated by changes in climate suitability for tourism activities, snowpack reduction, glaciers melting, permafrost melting, natural hazards, water scarcity, and changes in landscape and scenic beauty. We selected 70 indicators describing the exposure, the sensitivity and the adaptive capacity of each of the 85 defined areas. We collected, weighted and assembled simulations on the possible impacts and statistical data covering the whole country. The results obtained allowed us to identify the most important drivers influencing vulnerability. Moreover, they permitted the assessment of spatial heterogeneity in vulnerability. Finally, the data allowed us to identify hotspots, areas in which the implementation of adaptation measures is most crucial. To validate the legitimacy of the results and to analyze the perception of people working in the sector, we compared outcomes with the results of an online survey we designed. It was carried out among 566 Swiss tourism stakeholders and asked them to evaluate the vulnerability of their particular region. Differences between the two methods appeared: the outcome of the survey indicated that those living mainly in the Prealpine regions perceived their regions as the most vulnerable. Meanwhile, the outcomes of the geographic “hotspot” analysis showed that the mountainous regions, mostly in the Valais, Ticino, and Uri cantons, were the most vulnerable. Differences may be explained on one hand from the predisposition of stakeholders to be influenced by impacts already visible like snowpack reduction. Therefore, they might be more likely to identify the most vulnerable regions as the ones in which climate change is already affecting the tourism sector. On the other hand, dissimilarities also depend on the scores given by the 13 experts which weighted the various indicators used in the vulnerability map. In the second part of the thesis, we examined adaptation. We analyzed in particular which measures are already being implemented or have already been planned for the future. We also looked at how stakeholders evaluate the efficiency of these measures. Our analysis suggested that adaptation is already taking place in the country. Three categories of adaptation exist. These can be summarized as following: development of the supply, risk reduction, and communication on impacts and on implemented measures. The development of the supply can be seen both as the promotion of year-round tourism, in addition to innovation and diversification of tourism activities offered. It could also include the further development and securing of snow sports activities. The maintenance of winter tourism was a popular option in the past, with the wide spreading of snow cannons. Now, however, this strategy is beginning to show its economic and environmental limits in multiple regions. Various stakeholders in the online survey cited artificial snowmaking as efficient measures only on the short term that should be replaced by other strategies on the long run. Consequently more and more regions are focusing on diversification and innovation, putting more effort in offering year-round tourism. Our results confirm outcomes of past studies on the topic, which found similar results. Moreover, in collaboration with the ClimAlpTour project, we carried out a participative adaptation process in a selected case study region (the Aletsch region). We did this in order to study possible adaptation paths and to analyze possible impediments to the process. Finally, the last part of the thesis looked more in particular at this latter aspect, focusing on barriers to adaptation. Many elements can hinder the implementation of effective and efficient adaptation. These can have either economic, technological, social, or institutional origins. Based on stakeholders’ opinions, we saw that, for Swiss tourism, the barriers relate mainly to economic and social issues. The lack of money can clearly be an impediment to adaptation; also in addition to this, however, we found that the lack of information and coordination among stakeholders can also seriously hinder the process. This even if the willingness to act in order to adapt is high among stakeholders and the acceptability of the measures is important among the population (up to a point to which measures do not lead to maladaptation and that they do not carry too many negative impacts on the society, economy, and environment). Much is already being done at the Swiss national and local levels to combat the impacts of climate change in the country, in particular with the elaboration of the Swiss adaptation strategy. The groundwork for an effective transition of Swiss tourism seems therefore to have been laid. However, it should not be forgotten that the sector is facing many other challenges not directly linked to climate change and which also threaten the viability of the sector. Moreover, due to its significant footprint on the environment and its contribution to greenhouse gasses emission, the sector also needs to incorporate sustanaiblity in its adjustment and change.

EPFL2012

Climate Change and Tourism in Switzerland : Impacts, Vulnerability and Possible Adaptation Measures

Cecilia Matasci

Innsbruck University Press2009

Swiss tourism in the age of climate change

Cecilia Matasci

EPFL2012