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

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.