Will Climate Change Affect the Attractiveness of Beaches? Beach Users' Perceptions in Catalonia (NW Mediterranean)
Bombana, Briana (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Geografia)
Santos-Lacueva, R. (Universitat Rovira i Virgili)
Saladié, Òscar (Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Departament de Geografia)

Date:	2023
Abstract:	Considering climate is a key resource for tourism, we investigated beach users' profiles and their perceptions regarding three acknowledged effects of climate change (CC): temperature changes, reduction in beach area and water restrictions. Chosen as our case study, Catalan beaches are recognized globally as a coastal destination visited by national and international tourists as well as local residents and could, thus, shed light on potential trends. We conducted 867 surveys with users from 18 beaches classified as urban, semi-urban and natural beaches during the summer season. Questions approached three main blocks of information: sociodemographic profiles, characteristics of the stay and mobility, and perceptions regarding potential CC impacts. The results identified differences in profiles and perceptions among users of different types of beaches. Regarding CC effects, temperature changes and beach area reduction appeared to be more limiting and decisive factors than water restrictions in future scenarios, although reductions in drinking water are also less accepted. Foreigners were generally more sensitive to the effects considered, possibly due to their greater flexibility in choosing tourist destinations. Finally, the capacity of this type of approach to highlight key issues and related human behavior in future scenarios is useful for tourism management, especially subsequent adaptation options.
Grants:	Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2020-112525RB-I00
Note:	Altres ajuts: The first author had the support of the Ministério da Educação (Brazil) by a CAPES Fellowship (99999.001355/2015-05). This research was developed under the framework of the POLICLIMA project (CSO2016-76842-C2-1-R)
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Climate change ; Beach attractiveness ; Beach users' perceptions ; Beach management ; Tourism management ; Tourism sustainability ; Adaptation ; Catalonia ; Mediterranean region
Published in:	Sustainability, Vol. 15 Núm. 10 (may 2023) , Article Number 7805, ISSN 2071-1050

DOI: 10.3390/su15107805

19 p, 2.3 MB

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