The impact of home-to-destination climate differences for tourism

Abstract

Tourists may experience climatic conditions quite different to what they are used to, that can affect their physiological well-being. The Acclimatization Thermal Strain Index for Tourism quantifies the physiological cost of the acclimatization process. To demonstrate its utility, travel between contrasting climates is examined. Index is shown to be a useful indicator and demonstrates the potential adjustment cost in acclimatization cannot be reliably determined from a straightforward comparison of climatic conditions. The information is useful because climatic resources contribute significantly to tourists’ decision-making processes, affecting where and when tourists travel.

Keywords:

• home-to-destination climate differences
• climatic contrasts
• acclimatization thermal strain index for tourism

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr C.R. de Freitas, University of Auckland, colleague and good friend, for his inspiration, guidance and overall support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

E.A. Grigorieva http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7811-7853