Projects
Assessing climate change impact on nature-based tourism: developing protected areas vulnerability and resilience indices for managing climate change adaptation strategies – PACT-VIRA
| Project website | https://iztzg.hr//hr/projekti/znanstveni-projekti/pact-vira/ |
| Title | Assessing climate change impact on nature-based tourism: developing protected areas vulnerability and resilience indices for managing climate change adaptation strategies |
| Abstract | Modern tourism demand is influenced by external factors, with climate change being one of the most significant. Climate change is a pressing global issue with far-reaching consequences for various sectors, including tourism. There is considerable heterogeneity in assessments of the physical and socio-economic impact of climate change, depending on the destination and methodology. Climate changes particularly threaten the sustainability of nature-based tourism, especially in protected areas, which are often ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots and are sensitive to extreme weather events, fires, droughts, habitat loss and changes in species distribution. Tourism in protected natural areas represents an important segment of the global economy and is crucial for conserving natural resources. However, with the increasing impact of climate changes, the areas are increasingly exposed to threats that can significantly affect their sustainability and attractiveness to tourists. Therefore, it is important to explore how climate change affects tourism in protected areas and develop adaptation strategies to ensure the sustainability of tourism activities. The goals of this project are multidisciplinary and aimed to deeper understanding the interactions between climate changes, tourism, and nature conservation. The first goal is to assess the current state of tourism in protected areas to identify key climate threats. This will be followed by an analysis of the vulnerability of these areas to climate changes, with a particular focus on extreme weather conditions, changes in species habitats and tourism development. Identifying relevant indicators of vulnerability and resiliencies indices, the research will contribute to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of protected areas and to maximize the socio-economic benefits of tourism for local communities and nature conservation. |
| Key words | climate changes, tourism, protected areas, indicators, composite indexes, adaptation |
| Lead organization | Institute for tourism |
| Partner institutions | Croatian Geological Survey
Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb State Institute for Nature Protection Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, Split |
| Principal investigator | Izidora Marković Vukadin, PhD, Institute for tourism |
| Researchers from DHMZ | Tanja Likso, PhD;
Lidija Srnec, MsC; Ivana Havrle Kozarić, graduate engineer |
| Duration | 16/12/2024 – 15/12/2025 |
| Financing agency | Croatian Science Foundation |