Climate Change and Tourism in Spain. The Case of the Canary Islands and the Costa Blanca (Alicante): comparative analysis

Abstract

Tourism and climate change are closely related elements of geographicalspace. Tourism is one of the causal agents of climate change, as it generates transformations in land use and favors CO2 emissions, especially due to the importanceof external and internal travel in the destinations. For its part, the current processof climate change is causing alterations in climatic elements that are a key aspectin determining the influx in destinations and the establishment of tourist seasons.The paper analyses the importance of tourism activity, with a scalar approach, in theSpanish territory, with special attention to two main tourist destinations: the CanaryIslands and the Costa Blanca (Alicante). It assesses the impact that both have as CO2emitters and the magnitude of the land transformation that they have caused in recentdecades. On the other hand, the effect that climate change is already having on thealteration of important climatic elements for the sun and beach tourism activity inboth destinations is studied through the use of comfort indicators. The actions formitigating and adapting to climate change that public administrations and private agents are implementing to reduce its impact are studied. The future trends of theclimate change process in the tourism activity of these two main destinations in Spainare assessed.