Perceptions and realities of the impact of climate change on the Mediterranean tourism industry

Abstract

Using the Delphi method, seventy European experts in tourism planning were interviewed to obtain results about the impact of climate change on management models. Using the available documentation about climate change as a starting point, two focus groups of experts and business executives respectively were conducted with a view to fine-tuning the questionnaire and checking the results. The most noteworthy results of the survey were: climate change has already begun, therefore life in forthcoming decades will be subject to constant uncertainty; the tourist industry is not the main cause; those most responsible include firstly companies followed by state authorities and citizens, and those least responsible, local authorities; the subsectors affected most will be skiing, sun and sea, and golf tourism, and those least affected: nature tourism, congresses and events, and culture tourism; new sea and sun competitors will emerge; there is a reluctance to accept repressive taxation but support for renewable energy incentives; and responsible growth measures are put forward on the basis of integrated destination management, public-private co-responsibility and the application of sustainable measures in all phases in the life cycles of companies and destinations.