Costs of Climate Change - Tourism

 Human-caused climate change is simply a fact.  We've known about it since the late 1800s, Exxon scientists knew about it over 50 years ago, and data continues to pour in confirming what we've known all along.  Burning fossil fuels, releasing giga-tonnes of CO2, is changing the climate in ways we haven't seen in all of human history and at a rate that is unprecedented in the Earth's history.

We know that we need to change energy sources.  We need to adapt for greater changes in climate still to come.  None of this will be cheap.  However, doing nothing is not an option because not doing anything will cost even more.  As this series tries to make clear, we are already paying for the effects of climate change, and one casualty of climate change is tourism.

A recent article from the BBC was titled "Will extreme weather change when (and where) you go on holiday?"

This summer has seen what was referred to as "a slew of heat-related deaths" in the Mediterranean.  And tourists are taking note.  Cancellations, booking at different times of the year and even heading for cooler destinations (think Iceland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway....). 

And it's not just heat.  There have been other natural disasters, such as fires, hurricanes and floods.  Remember, it was only last summer when temperature infernos and a lack of rain triggered massive fires in Spain, Italy and Greece.  

Wildfires: 2023 among the worst in the EU in this century  These fires produced an estimated 20 megatonnes of CO2 emissions, "nearly a third of the CO2 emissions from international aviation in the EU in one year."

Closer to home, forest fires have disrupted travel more and more each year recently.

The recent massive fire that burned 30-40% of Jasper closed major highways, throttling commercial truck traffic and essentially closing down certain businesses in the area, as this article makes clear. 

Business craters for open tourist spots outside Jasper National Park.  Highway 16 has been closed since July 24 and only recently opened for short periods to allow commercial truck traffic through.  The Icefields Parkway has also been closed, one of the major routes to and from Jasper.  Campers in Jasper who had to flee as the fire approached have still not been able to retrieve their camping equipment, RVs and such.  It's unknown when that will happen.  Now that so much of Jasper has burned, one wonders how long it will be until many tourists return to the Park.

An article in the Vernon Morning Star from September 19th, 2023, suggested that Climate change cost B.C. tourism ‘$100s of millions, never to be recovered’.  A fire on Vancouver Island in June 2023, forced a 2.5 week closure of Highway 4.  A survey of businesses affected indicated a loss of $44 million.  What is also means is that potential tourists might avoid BC in the future, especially since smoke-filled summers, road closures and forest fires makes travel in this province less appealing.

And it's not just summer fires and heat waves.  Climate change is resulting in less snow in winter, so tourism for skiing is suffering.  On a personal level, snow levels were so bad last winter where I live that I didn't do a single day of alpine touring skiing all winter, choosing instead to spend my time at a few nearby cross country ski locations.

It's also worth mentioning that tourism isn't just a victim of climate change.  According to one source, tourism is responsible for 8% of the world's carbon emissions.

Globally, tourism is a $7.7 trillion business and contributes 7.6% to the global economy.  This and other effects were mentioned in Climate change, global warming posing serious challenges to global tourism.

And this is just a start.  It's going to get worse.