Asia Tourism Tackles Climate Change: It Gets Confusing
Photo Credit: Southeast Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to the effects of climate change. Severe weather changes could greatly jeopardize traditional lifestyles and livelihoods in many parts of the region. Flickr / Radek Kucharski
Skift Take
Many tourism stakeholders in Asia are finally taking steps to tackle the climate change elephant in the room, but confusion over carbon offsetting is preventing the issue from being addressed swiftly and effectively. Meanwhile, the climate clock ticks on.
For a sector that was more used to bullish growth prospects in the last decade, players in Asia tourism fixated about attaining higher visitor arrival and revenue goals.
But there is a new factor in that mix. The growing attention to climate change is being weighed increasingly in strategy as more of the region's travel and tourism organizations push for action.
This heightened awareness is driven, in part, by how apparent climate change shifts are becoming with each passing year, said Kevin Nehemiah Phun, director at The Centre for Responsible Tourism Singapore. “Japan’s cherry blossom festival has moved forward to March instead of April due to earlier blooming, while ecotourism on Atauro Island, in Timor-Leste, has seen its biodiverse marine life affected by rising sea temperatures. The examples [of climate change impacts] are so many.”
A greater sense of accountability is starting to move into corporate organizations’ consciousness, so much so that Graham Harper, di
