The impact of snow scarcity on ski tourism: an analysis of the record warm season 2006/2007 in Tyrol (Austria)

Emerald - 2011
RobertSteiger1
1Member of the Project Staff at the Institute of Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

Tóm tắt

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the sensitivity of ski businesses and of the accommodation sector in Tyrol to warm winter seasons and to draw conclusions for climate change vulnerability.Design/methodology/approachOperational indicators of ski areas and overnight stays in the destinations were analysed in the record warm winter season 2006/2007. Comparing the climatic anomalies of that season with climate change scenarios, the season can serve as an analogue year for average future winter seasons. By interpreting changes in the analogue year, the potential vulnerability of the winter tourism industry in the study area can be assessed.FindingsWhile the impact on ski areas was relatively small on the province level, the analysis on the basis of individual businesses showed a high sensitivity of small to medium and low‐altitude ski areas as well as of ski areas with insufficient snowmaking facilities. Significant differences in the impact on the accommodation sector were found on the district level, with longer‐lasting negative effects on the regional tourism economy in two districts with low‐altitude ski areas. Climate change increases the risk of financial losses for individual ski businesses as well as for tourism‐dependent regional economies, as happened in the 2006/2007 season. As the season represents an extreme event, the long‐term effect of a rising frequency of warm winters on demand cannot be assessed.Originality/valueThe paper presents a valuable and inexpensive approach to assess the impact of warm winter seasons on the supply side as well as on the demand side.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Abegg, B. (1996), Klimaänderung und Tourismus. Klimafolgenforschung am Beispiel des Wintertourismus in den Schweizer Alpen, vdf Zurich, Zurich.

Abegg, B., Agrawala, S., Crick, F. and de Montfalcon, A. (2007), “Climate change impacts and adaptation in winter tourism”, in Agrawala, A. (Ed.), Climate Change in the European Alps. Adapting Winter Tourism and Natural Hazards Management, Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development, Paris, pp. 25‐60.

Amt der Tiroler Landesregierung (2009), Statistisches Handbuch Bundesland Tirol, Abteilung Raumordnung‐Statistik, Amt der Tiroler Landesregierung, Innsbruck.

Breiling, M., Charamza, P. and Skage, O. (1997), “Klimasensibilität österreichischer Bezirke mit besonderer Berücksichtigung des Wintertourismus”, Schwedische Universität für Agrarwissenschaften, Alnarp.

Bürki, R. (2000), Klimaänderung und Anpassungsprozesse im Wintertourismus, Vol. 6, Publikation der Ostschweizerischen Geographischen Gesellschaft, St Gallen.

Dawson, J. and Scott, D. (2010), “Modeling climate change impacts on ski season and snowmaking in the US northeast”, Tourism Management.

Dawson, J., Scott, D. and McBoyle, G. (2009), “Climate change analogue analysis of ski tourism in the northeastern USA”, Climate Research, Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 1‐9.

Giles, A.R. and Perry, A.H. (1998), “The use of a temporal analogue to investigate the possible impact of projected global warming on the UK tourist industry”, Tourism Management, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 75‐80.

Lehar, G. (2010), personal communication.

Luterbacher, J., Liniger, M.A., Menzel, A., Estrella, N., Della‐Marta, P.M., Pfister, C., Rutishauser, T. and Xoplaki, E. (2007), “Exceptional European warmth of autumn 2006 and winter 2007: historical context, the underlying dynamics, and its phenological impacts”, Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 34, p. L12704.

Luthe, T. (2009), “Vulnerability to global change and sustainable adaptation of ski tourism”, Outdoor Sports and Environmental Science, German Sports University, Cologne.

Scott, D. (2006), “Global environmental change and mountain tourism”, in Gössling, S. and Hall, C.M. (Eds), Tourism and Global Environmental Change, Routledge, London, pp. 54‐75.

Scott, D., McBoyle, G. and Mills, B. (2003), “Climate change and the skiing industry in southern Ontario (Canada): exploring the importance of snowmaking as a technical adaptation”, Climate Research, Vol. 23, pp. 171‐81.

Scott, D., Dawson, J. and Jones, B. (2008), “Climate change vulnerability of the US Northeast winter recreation‐tourism sector”, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Vol. 13, pp. 577‐96.

Scott, D., McBoyle, G., Minogue, A. and Mills, B. (2006), “Climate change and the sustainability of ski‐based tourism in eastern North America: a reassessment”, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 376‐98.

Semenov, M. and Barrow, E. (1997), “Use of a stochastic weather generator in the development of climate change scenarios”, Climatic Change, Vol. 35, pp. 397‐414.

Steiger, R. (2007), Der Klimawandel und seine Auswirkungen auf die Skigebiete im bayerischen Alpenraum, Salzwasser‐Verlag, Bremen.

Steiger, R. (2010), “The impact of climate change on ski season length and snowmaking requirements in Tyrol (Austria)”, Climate Research, Vol. 43 No. 3, pp. 251‐62.

Steiger, R. and Mayer, M. (2008), “Snowmaking and climate change. Future options for snow production in Tyrolean ski resorts”, Mountain Research and Development, Vol. 28 Nos 3/4, pp. 292‐8.

Tirol Werbung (2010), “Tirol in Zahlen”, available at: www.presse.tirol.at/xxl/de/tirol‐zahlen/ (accessed 29 January 2010).

Unbehaun, W., Pröbstl, U. and Haider, W. (2008), “Trends in winter sport tourism: challenges for the future”, Tourism Review, Vol. 63 No. 1, pp. 36‐47.

Vanat, L. (2009), “2009 International report on mountain tourism”, available at: www.vanat.ch/RM‐world‐report‐2009.pdf (accessed January 29, 2010).

WKO (2003‐2007), Berichtsblätter Wintersaison 2001/02 bis 2005/06, WKO, Die Seilbahnen, Wien.

WKO (2009a), Wirtschaftsbericht der Seilbahnen. Trends Winter 2008/09, WKO, Wien.

WKO (2009b), personal communication with Josef Ölhaven.

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Emerald

Thông tin tác giả