CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO CIRCULAR

Código: ProID2021010048

El proyecto ProID2021010048 está financiado por la Agencia Canaria de Investigación, Innovación y Sociedad de la Información, Gobierno de Canarias con fondos FEDER de la Unión Europea, PO FEDER Canarias 2014-2020.

Resumen

Este proyecto estudia las preferencias de los turistas por las políticas de control del cambio climático en los destinos turísticos, incluidas las políticas de la economía circular, con aplicaciones enfocadas en los segmentos de la economía azul, el turismo de intereses especiales, y las diferentes dimensiones de la sostenibilidad de los destinos. Se utiliza la metodología de los modelos de elección discreta, en la que se plantea a los turistas tanto en origen como en destino, la elección entre destinos alternativos competitivos de Canarias con diferentes niveles de impactos del cambio climático a medio y largo plazo, y con diverso grado de éxito en el control de los impactos de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero en los ecosistemas terrestres y marinos, el confort climático, las infraestructuras, los bienes culturales, la erosión de las playas, el riesgo de incendios, el estrés hídrico y el riesgo de enfermedades infecciosas. Los resultados evidencian la disposición a pagar para evitar los efectos del cambio climático en los destinos turísticos, permitiendo obtener información para establecer una tasa ecológica para financiar las políticas que reduzcan los efectos del cambio climático en el turismo, y aumentando de esta forma la competitividad a largo plazo de los destinos turísticos.

Resultados

• León, C.J. Lam-Gonzñalez, Y, and M. González, “The effect of COVID-19 on tourists’ preferences for travelling under climate change risks”

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the effect of the COVID-19 on travel behaviour by measuring changes in the perceived utility of visiting destinations that are threatened by climate change. A choice experiment was conducted before and after the outbreak. The model was empirically investigated with 6,900 individuals interviewed online at origin countries, as potential travellers to eleven destinations exposed to different damages. Data reveals a shift in preferences, towards a greater inclination for travelling at a lower price, greater sensitivity to new infectious disease episodes and forest fires, and a downward effect on the value of other environmental features that may be more affected after the pandemic. Thus, results give support to the finite-pool-of-worry hypothesis against the alternative affect-generalisation hypothesis. Implications of the shifts in the environmental-related sensitivity of travellers are discussed.

• Lam-González, Y. E., León, C. J., de León, J., & Suárez-Rojas, C. (2022). The Impact of Degradation of Islands’ Land Ecosystems Due to Climate Change on Tourists’ Travel Decisions. Land, 11(10), 1644.

ABSTRACT

The degradation of terrestrial ecosystems may change the perceived value of destinations for tourists. This article analyses tourists’ travel decisions when the land ecosystems of the destinations they are planning to visit are threatened by climate change impacts. More specifically, it analyses tourists’ willingness to pay for their holidays at island destinations endangered by the increase in forest fires, terrestrial wildlife losses, water shortages, and damages to infrastructure and cultural heritage. With this aim in mind, a discrete choice model was designed and empirically tested with a representation of European travellers, using an alternative specific conditional logistic regression. The results show that the sharp increase in the occurrence of wildfires has had the greatest negative impact on tourists’ willingness to pay for their next holiday at the affected tourist destination, followed by severe losses in terrestrial wildlife and significant damage to cultural heritage. This study highlights the importance of having accurate information on future climate change conditions impacting land attributes at the local level, not only to be more effective in the early prevention of threats to prioritise but also to confront the potential damage to the tourism economy more efficiently.

• Hernández, M. M. G., Leon, C. J., García, C., & Lam-González, Y. E. (2023). Assessing the climate-related risk of marine biodiversity degradation for coastal and marine tourism. Ocean & Coastal Management, 232, 106436.

ABSTRACT

Coastal and marine tourism faces multiple climate risks. The degradation of marine ecosystems may have profound implications for destinations, especially if marine activities are the main attraction. This study aims to assess the climate-related risk of marine habitat degradation to coastal and marine tourism. Risk analysis is undertaken through a blended methods approach by adapting the IPCC AR6 concept of climate risk, the Impact Chain framework and hierarchical multi-criteria analysis with stakeholders' participation. The study is based on representative European islands, allowing comparison of risk as a composite of hazard, vulnerability (sensitivity and adaptive capacity), and the exposure of the tourism system to the hazard. The analysis is undertaken across diverse tourism areas that share the challenge of developing tourism-based economies that are more resilient to climate change. Results indicate that the most relevant factor explaining the level of risk is adaptive capacity. The study captures islands’ heterogeneities from the local perspective that might inspire collaborative policy-design. Different scenarios regarding the islands under study highlight specific adaptation policy areas that might be prioritised in each case to more effectively respond to the threat. The study demonstrates the validity of the blended methods approach for adaptation planning in coastal tourism areas.

• Suárez-Rojas, C., Hernández, M. M. G., & León, C. J. (2023). Sustainability in whale-watching: A literature review and future research directions based on regenerative tourism. Tourism Management Perspectives, 47, 101120.
• León, C. J., Hernández-Alemán, A., Fernández-Hernández, C., & Araña, J. E. (2023). Are rural residents willing to trade-off higher noise for lower air pollution? Evidence from revealed preferences. Ecological Economics, 207, 10778.
• Fernández-Hernández, C., Araña, J. E., de León, J., & León, C. J. (2022). Tourists’ preferences for stargazing land resources. Land, 11(2), 198.
• Usmonova, G., Alieva, D., & León, C. J. (2022). Yurt Invited: Combining Tourists and Stakeholders Perceptions of Sustainable Community-Based Tourism in Central Asia. Sustainability, 14(13), 7540.