Tourism Industry Perspectives on Climate Change in South Africa

Abstract

One of South Africa’s key constraints in reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity is climate shocks with the impacts of climate change evidenced in the landscape of tourism. This paper contributes to the expanding knowledge domain about tourism and climate change. It contributes to the limited extant research which explores tourism and climate change based risk perceptions in South Africa. The specific objective is to present the results of a qualitative national perceptions study undertaken with expert representatives from the South African tourism industry in order to comprehend the industry’s view of climate change, the risks posed and the importance of taking action in relation to other industry priorities and challenges.