Behavioural adaptation to climate change among winter alpine tourists: an analysis of tourist motivations and leisure substitutability

Abstract

Understanding market responses to climate change impacts has important implications for the sustainability of Australia's winter tourism destinations. Utilising a framework incorporating push–pull tourist motivations and the theory of leisure substitutability, this study sought to explore how winter tourists in Australia will adapt to changes in snow cover in Australia's alpine regions under future climate change scenarios. The results of a questionnaire completed by 231 respondents indicated that tourist motivations were related to behavioural adaptation, and that there is a general preference among the current winter market for spatial substitution in the event of poor snow. Those motivated by recreation specialisation or snow-related attributes were likely to opt for spatial substitution, while tourists motivated by self-expression and après ski activities displayed resilience to poor snow conditions. The results demonstrate a clear division between leisure-driven tourists who valued participation in sport, and experience-driven tourists, who displayed higher resilience to reduced snow under projected climate change scenarios. These results have practical implications for winter tourism destinations, both in terms of targeting experience-driven tourists in the case of reduced snow as well as the longer term sustainability and viability of winter tourism destinations.

气候变化下冬季高山游客的行为适应：旅游动机和休闲可替换代性分析

了解气候变化影响下的市场反应，对于澳大利亚冬季旅游景区的可持续发展有着重要的意义。本文利用以推拉式的旅游动机和休闲可替代性理论相结合的框架，旨在探讨未来气候变化情况下，冬季游客将如何适应澳大利亚高山地区冰雪覆盖的环境。文中接受问卷调查采访的231位游客表示，旅游动机与行为适应有关。在雪量不足时，目前的冬季旅游市场更青睐于空间置换。那些专业滑雪或是需要进行与雪相关活动的游客，更有可能选择改变旅游地点；而那些想要自我表现和参加滑雪后聚会的游客，则能够适应雪量小的环境。问卷结果显示了重视参加体育活动的休闲驱动游客和在降雪量减少的气候变化下表现出高度适应性的体验驱动游客之间的明显区别。这些结论对确保市场在雪量小的时候以体验驱动游客作为目标，并实现冬季旅途景区长期的有效经营和可持续性发展有着实际性意义。

Keywords:

• climate change
• behavioural adaptation
• tourist motivations
• leisure substitutability
• winter tourism
• alpine tourism

关键词:

• 气候变化
• 行为适应
• 旅游动机
• 休闲可替换性
• 冬季旅游
• 高山旅游
• 可持续性

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nicole Cocolas

Nicole Cocolas is a recent honours graduate from the University of Queensland. She currently works as a research assistant within the tourism cluster of the Business School at University of Queensland. Her research interests include tourism and climate change, and behavioural adaptation.

Gabrielle Walters

Gabrielle Walters is a lecturer in Tourism at the University of Queensland. She has a PhD degree in tourism marketing and her current research interests include tourist behaviour in times of crises and how tourists respond to targeted marketing communications.

Lisa Ruhanen

Lisa Ruhanen is a senior lecturer and the director of Tourism Postgraduate Coursework Programs in the UQ Business School, the University of Queensland. Her research interests include sustainable tourism destination policy and planning, climate change, and indigenous tourism. She has been involved in some 30 research and consultancy projects including studies of climate change policy in Australia.