Tourism and climate change: percepcao e comportamento

ABSTRACT

The objective of this work was to evaluate the awareness and attitudes of tourist’s to the diverse climatic transformations that the planet Earth is currently undergoing. Climate is important factor that strongly influences a tourist’s choice of destination, and, if the worst forecasts of anthropogenic climate change are correct, then tourism all over the world will suffer drastic consequences. Brazil, like many countries in South America, is trying to expand its tourist industry but, so far, there have been few studies of the potential impact of climate change on the Brazilian tourist industry. Here, I report the results of a survey of tourists in the city of Campos de Jordão, a popular destination for domestic and international tourists in South-East Brazil. I used semi-structured interviews to assess the attitudes and awareness of tourists to climate change and environmental conservation. The results of the survey suggested that climate is a very important deciding factor for tourists who choose to come to Campos. Furthermore, although there is a general awareness of the phenomenon of global climate change, respondents showed little appreciation of what the potential impacts might be. I discuss these results in the context of potential climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies that could be adopted by tourism stakeholders in this region and conclude that there is a pressing need for further research and a more sophisticated and comprehensive public education program.

KEY WORDS:
Tourism, climate change, perception, behavior

INTRODUCTION

It is now apparent that the world is in the midst of an unprecedented change in its climate systems caused by human alteration of the environment. The impacts of anthropogenic climate change will be felt in all spheres of human activity but may be especially apparent in the tourism industry for the following reasons: 1) Climate is an essential consideration for many people in their choice