The tourism sector is amongst key economic sectors globally, employing millions of workers across the world and contributing to the GDP. However, the sector is highly vulnerable to climate and disaster risks due to its high reliance and inherent dependency on climate and environmental factors.
Climate risk for tourism is multifaceted. It consists of environmental, economic, and social changes and impacts different stakeholders at local, national, and global levels. Some of the risks and impacts the sector faces include sea level risk, floods and droughts, biodiversity loss and degradation, loss and damage to infrastructure, loss of income and livelihoods, and water scarcity and insecurity, as well as health risks.
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector forms an integral part of the country’s economy. Impacts on the sector would create adverse impacts on the livelihoods of many, such as those in the hotel industry as well as affiliated sectors and livelihoods dependent on the activities of the tourism sector.
Gaps and needs
At a recently-organised multi-stakeholder gathering of the tourism sector, the participants highlighted key needs to be addressed to ensure climate and disaster resilience in the tourism sector.
Some of the needs highlighted include the need for collective decision-making in the sector through processes which are consultative, which would contribute to gaining insights and inputs from different stakeholders for making better decisions in terms of strategic interventions as well as tourism sector-related decision-making.
Additionally, they highlighted the need for alignment in policy, regulations, and practices, application of sustainable practices, and enhanced and comprehensive planning processes taking into consideration risks and challenges projected, including climate and disaster risks.
The sector stakeholders further highlighted the need for comprehensive data generation and management and the need for a sustainable financial architecture as well as risk transfer mechanisms, including but not limited to insurance options suitable to different groups of the sector.
Addressing climate impacts in tourism
The tourism sector has taken measures to address climate change. This includes proactive actions which aim to mitigate the contribution to climate change by reduction of emissions, as well as adaptive measures which help contribute to build long-term resilience.
Some of the examples of such actions include include focusing on infrastructure resilience which focuses on building capacities to withstand extreme weather events and coastal erosion, climate-friendly, eco-tourism practices that build on biodiversity conservation and restoration, as well as approaches related to climate mitigation such as shifting towards renewable energy and biogas for generating electricity.
Additionally, other measures for building adaptive capacity in the sector and managing climate risks can include the diversification of products, destinations, and focuses related to the tourism sector. For example, this could include promotion of cultural tourism and culinary tourism as well as developing indoor activities to replace the lost days of activities in terms of weather events that hinder outdoor activities.
In addition to these practices, policy processes can contribute to building climate and disaster resilience. Among some approaches in the policy sector are integration of climate risk into tourism related policies and processes which builds on inclusive approaches and collaborative efforts and developing partnerships for cooperation and collaboration, including with actors in the international sphere.
The policies can build on enhancing and mobilising funding for scaling up resilience-building and sustainable finance, mobilising efforts in the tourism sector. This will include identifying needs as well as opportunities, including key actors, for building cooperation and collaboration in mobilising support and resources.
Sri Lanka’s climate policies and plans, including the Nationally Determined Contributions and the National Adaptation Plan, focus on the tourism sector and identify key actions for scaling up climate action and building resilience. Additionally, the most recent national communication to the UNFCCC Secretariat also includes the sector as one of the priority sectors for which climate risks are assessed.
In addition to these, disaster management and planning also play a key role in addressing risk and impacts of climate change and disasters in the tourism sector.
Partnerships and stakeholder engagement
Successful risk management includes taking into consideration contributions by different stakeholders which includes governments, private sector entities, civil society, and local communities.
The engagement processes could include partnerships between different actors, including but not limited to Public-Private Partnerships and community-led initiatives on climate and disaster risk management, as well scaling up awareness for better engagement and informed decision-making on approaches for risk management in the sector.
Tourism sector stakeholders highlighted the need for enhanced engagement of multiple stakeholders in the sector and having a coordinated process for engagement, as well as setting up processes for engagement with stakeholders and entities, taking action to address climate as well as disaster risk management.
Training, capacity-building, and access to information for better engagement of communities also form a key component of effective partnership-building and stakeholder engagement. This includes establishing new and innovative business models for the sector which take into consideration the needs of communities and outcomes that have long-term positive impact for risk management.
Note: The article reflects inputs provided by multiple stakeholders, including Government stakeholders, engaging in the climate and disaster risk management workshop of Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel on 21 November and organised by SLYCAN Trust
(The writer is an Attorney-at-Law specialising in public international law. She leads the work of SLYCAN Trust, a non-profit think tank working on climate change, sustainable development, biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, social justice, and animal welfare. She has worked over a decade on climate change at local, national, and international level with a focus on climate change related law and policy, UN climate change policy and actions, UNFCCC negotiations, climate adaptation and loss and damage related action, climate-friendly entrepreneurship, multi-stakeholder engagement in policy and climate action including youth engagement and gender)