Tourism resorts closed for business? : Climate change, erosion threats and coastal tourism : future choices for sustaining coastal tourism destinations

Abstract

A recent report by the UK based Churchill Insurance group highlighted that some of the world's most famous tourist attractions, such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef and Italy's Amalfi coast, could be closed to visitors within a few years because of worries about environmental damage and climate change. The report suggests that some destinations could be permanently closed to tourists by 2020 or face severe restrictions on visitor numbers and sharp increases in admission prices. The report goes on to warn that in twenty to forty years' time the Great Barrier Reef could be severely damaged, forcing its closure, while other parts of Australia would be off-limits because of a rise in bushfires and insect-borne diseases. Other highlighted destinations at risk included the Taj coral reef in the Maldives, Goa in India, Florida's Everglades and Croatia's Dalmatian coastline (Smithers, 2006). The report also suggests that coastal attractions are particularly vulnerable and comments that many resorts will run the risk of damage severe enough to put their long-term viability as destinations in doubt. One of Britain's leading climatologists, David Viner, senior research scientist at the University of East Anglia, supports such notions and advocates that climate change will have a profound impact on tourism in the coming decades (Agnew and Viner, 2001; Viner,2006). From such evidence it seems increasingly apparent that coastal tourism and its relationship with the coastal zone are now significant topics of research, increasingly discussed within international policy contexts. In this respect, coastal destinations, beaches and beach resorts have become synonymous with tourism development and tourism growth. With current predictions of climate change and sea level rise they are clearly, however, becoming increasingly threatened by climate change and physical damage. Despite these threats, however, the ongoing exponential growth of tourism will continue to exacerbate these current impacts. It is the consequences of such phenomena which will ultimately impact upon the long term future of coastal tourism environments and, ofcourse, their continued survival. With respect to such, it is becoming increasingly vital to identify management strategies that protect tourism infrastructure and coastal resources, especially in areas significantly reliant on the industry for their economy. This includes both the developed and developing world, as coastal regions are places where destruction of both natural and tourist environments have no discrimination. This is exemplified, for example, by the Mediterranean where direct and indirect pressures have led to unsustainable coastal development within quite varied coastal environments. Within the US and particularly Europe, coastal zone strategies to tackle such challenges are now firmly on the political agenda. Indeed the European Commission in 1999 launched its own policy statements on integrated coastal zone management (ICZM ) - Integrated Coastal Zone Management: A Strategy for Europe (European Commission, 1999) whilst the US has long had policies for regional coastal zone management, for instance the 1972 Coastal Zone Management Act (Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management/OCRM, 2004).

This paper will discuss threats to, and consequences of, current tourism growth and development and asses predicted changes and implications for management and policy options for threatened coastlines. From recent research, local impacts of erosion on coastal tourism development are evaluated and consequences for tourism development outlined. The validity and practicality of management options to tackle the complex nature and juxtaposition between tourism, climate change and coastal zone management are considered, including an evaluation of management responses and consequent policy choices. Whilst conclusions from the research show that coastal protection measures should be linked to physical processes, the paper proposes that public perception and policy implementation often ignore this imperative, resulting in inappropriate management responses. Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) strategies are considered and advocated for managing coastal tourism pressures and accommodating increasing demands from the industry. Recommendations are made to ameliorate projected impacts on coastal tourism infrastructure by the implementation of both soft and hard remedial pro active measures and by addressing more lateral options regarding the coastal zone and its relationship with its natural hinterland which can often provide new opportunities for sustained tourism development.