Responding to climate change: Surakarta city tourism on legal and policy perspectives

Abstract

Like other destinations in the Asia region, Surakarta’s tourism policy is vulnerable to the impacts and implications of climate change. The city reliance on its culture and service product which is potentially under threat, coupled with the potential for changing consumer demand patterns, particularly in long-haul markets, should be concerning for the tourism. Yet, the tourism has been criticized for its short-term, profit orientation and lack of action regarding climate change, mainly on legal and policy perspectives. It is against this background that a qualitative study was undertaken with primary and secondary data of Surakarta’s tourism policy to explore the legal perspectives on current challenges and future directions regarding climate change.