Localized climate change impacts on tourism businesses

Climate change models are becoming increasingly granular, making it possible to predict how specific tourist destinations will be affected according to four different greenhouse gas emission scenarios, ranging from current levels of emissions to enhanced mitigation measures. For a popular destinatio...

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Main Authors: Frank W. Milbourn V, Ethan R. Wertlieb, Robert W. Orttung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666957925000114
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author Frank W. Milbourn V
Ethan R. Wertlieb
Robert W. Orttung
author_facet Frank W. Milbourn V
Ethan R. Wertlieb
Robert W. Orttung
author_sort Frank W. Milbourn V
collection DOAJ
description Climate change models are becoming increasingly granular, making it possible to predict how specific tourist destinations will be affected according to four different greenhouse gas emission scenarios, ranging from current levels of emissions to enhanced mitigation measures. For a popular destination like France, the changing flows of domestic and international tourists will have a strong impact on local businesses. This research makes a methodological innovation by helping tourism-oriented businesses predict how climate change will affect their specific location in terms of temperature changes and economic impacts. By using European National Meteorological and Hydrological Services data combined with the CMIP6 climate models, we can show with greater granularity than before the different reactions of international and domestic tourists to these new climate trends and the differing impacts on the seasonality of when tourists will visit different destinations across France. The empirical results show that fewer international tourists, who spend more money per capita than domestic tourists, will visit southern France in the summer months, but that their numbers will increase at other times of the year. Changes among domestic tourists are less pronounced. Although overall tourism to France is expected to increase, fewer international visitors will arrive under climate futures defined by fossil-fuel driven scenarios than more sustainable ones. To achieve the best results, businesses in host communities should place climate mitigation measures at the center of practices and policies to navigate the impact of increasing temperatures and tourist reactions.
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spelling doaj-art-71b75a6e710e4a82b1dee8a8a36167c52025-08-20T03:10:25ZengElsevierAnnals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights2666-95792025-05-016110017610.1016/j.annale.2025.100176Localized climate change impacts on tourism businessesFrank W. Milbourn V0Ethan R. Wertlieb1Robert W. Orttung2The George Washington University, 1957 E St NW Suite 412, Washington, DC 20052, United States of AmericaThe George Washington University, 1957 E St NW Suite 412, Washington, DC 20052, United States of AmericaCorresponding author.; The George Washington University, 1957 E St NW Suite 412, Washington, DC 20052, United States of AmericaClimate change models are becoming increasingly granular, making it possible to predict how specific tourist destinations will be affected according to four different greenhouse gas emission scenarios, ranging from current levels of emissions to enhanced mitigation measures. For a popular destination like France, the changing flows of domestic and international tourists will have a strong impact on local businesses. This research makes a methodological innovation by helping tourism-oriented businesses predict how climate change will affect their specific location in terms of temperature changes and economic impacts. By using European National Meteorological and Hydrological Services data combined with the CMIP6 climate models, we can show with greater granularity than before the different reactions of international and domestic tourists to these new climate trends and the differing impacts on the seasonality of when tourists will visit different destinations across France. The empirical results show that fewer international tourists, who spend more money per capita than domestic tourists, will visit southern France in the summer months, but that their numbers will increase at other times of the year. Changes among domestic tourists are less pronounced. Although overall tourism to France is expected to increase, fewer international visitors will arrive under climate futures defined by fossil-fuel driven scenarios than more sustainable ones. To achieve the best results, businesses in host communities should place climate mitigation measures at the center of practices and policies to navigate the impact of increasing temperatures and tourist reactions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666957925000114Climate changeDomestic tourismInternational tourismFranceCoast
spellingShingle Frank W. Milbourn V
Ethan R. Wertlieb
Robert W. Orttung
Localized climate change impacts on tourism businesses
Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights
Climate change
Domestic tourism
International tourism
France
Coast
title Localized climate change impacts on tourism businesses
title_full Localized climate change impacts on tourism businesses
title_fullStr Localized climate change impacts on tourism businesses
title_full_unstemmed Localized climate change impacts on tourism businesses
title_short Localized climate change impacts on tourism businesses
title_sort localized climate change impacts on tourism businesses
topic Climate change
Domestic tourism
International tourism
France
Coast
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666957925000114
work_keys_str_mv AT frankwmilbournv localizedclimatechangeimpactsontourismbusinesses
AT ethanrwertlieb localizedclimatechangeimpactsontourismbusinesses
AT robertworttung localizedclimatechangeimpactsontourismbusinesses