Geobibliography and Bibliometric Networks of Polar Tourism and Climate Change Research

O Demiroglu,C Hall

doi:10.3390/atmos11050498

Abstract

In late 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released their much-awaited Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). High mountain areas, polar regions, low-lying islands and coastal areas, and ocean and marine ecosystems, were separately dealt by experts to reveal the impacts of climate change on these regions, as well as the responses of the natural and human systems inhabiting or related to these regions. The tourism sector was found, among the main systems, influenced by climate change in the oceanic and cryospheric environments. In this study, we deepen the understanding of tourism and climate interrelationships in the polar regions. In doing so, we step outside the climate resilience of polar tourism paradigm and systematically assess the literature in terms of its gaps relating to an extended framework where the impacts of tourism on climate through a combined and rebound effects lens are in question as well. Following a systematic identification and screening on two major bibliometric databases, a final selection of 93 studies, spanning the 2004–2019 period, are visualized in terms of their thematic and co-authorship networks and a study area based geobibliography, coupled with an emerging hot spots analysis, to help identify gaps for future research.

Highlights

Climate change and the tourism system show mutual interactions that manifest themselves primarily as environmental change impacts affecting tourism and mostly travel induced emissions driving warming
The two polar regions, the Arctic and the Antarctic, are in an increasing need of study as, on the one hand, they are subject to amplified impacts and, on the other, are increasing in popularity as tourism destinations with associated touristic products
We aim for a systematic review of state-of-the-art literature and identify research gaps on the relationship of climate change and polar tourism

Summary

Introduction

Climate change and the tourism system show mutual interactions that manifest themselves primarily as environmental change impacts affecting tourism and mostly travel induced emissions driving warming In this context, the two polar regions, the Arctic and the Antarctic, are in an increasing need of study as, on the one hand, they are subject to amplified impacts and, on the other, are increasing in popularity as tourism destinations with associated touristic products. We aim for a systematic review of state-of-the-art literature and identify research gaps on the relationship of climate change and polar tourism. The assessment is further discussed according to an extended framework that takes account of issues on climate change vulnerability, and the paradoxes among environmental awareness, development, and climatic and wider environmental consequences stemming from ever-increasing tourism activities in the two polar regions, the Arctic and the Antarctic

Methods

Results

Conclusion