What are the implications of climate change for the Caribbean travel and tourism industry?
This special theme issue looks at the role of the travel and tourism industry in climate change, and at the implications of climate change for the travel and tourism industry. There is a particular focus on the Caribbean, for three reasons. The first is that the Caribbean is currently the most tourism-dependent region in the world. A long-term contraction in the industry would cripple a number of Caribbean economies and cause a surge in poverty, which is likely to cause social chaos. The second is that most Caribbean tourists arrive by either cruise ship or air, both of which generate significant quantities of carbon dioxide and therefore make a major contribution to climate change. The third is that most of the Caribbean industry is based on sea, sun and sand tourism, which in turn means that most of the essential infrastructure is located at or near the shoreline, in areas that will be vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surge. This combination of dependency and vulnerability make
