Dive tourism in Luganville, Vanuatu: shocks, stressors and vulnerability to climate change

Luganville is a developing dive tourism destination region (DTDR) in Vanuatu, which relies on tourism. This article reports on the shocks and stressors faced by Luganville’s dive tourism sector and climate change’s exacerbation of these. The study’s methodology was based on rapid rural appraisal and case study principles, involving methods of semistructured interviews, group discussions, and personal observations. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Key shocks identified include cyclones, earthquakes, effect on demand due to media footage, and changes to international flights. Main stressors were starfish outbreaks and environmental degradation. Unlike the indigenous communities, expatriates show little concern for the potential impact of climate change, presenting response challenges that must incorporate different perspectives to develop effective adaptation options. Special Issue : scuba diving touris

Climate change adaptation processes and dive tourism: understanding the policy environment in Vanuatu

Tourism is a growing market in the Pacific region. It is a vital part of the economic fundamentals for Pacific Island Countries and can provide many benefits to this region. The environment in these countries is of key importance to the sustainable growth of this sector, but is affected by climate change as well as Government policies within the areas of tourism, environment, planning and climate change. Climate change is already affecting the Pacific islands by adding to current stressors and the development of new threats to the natural, social and economic spheres of this region. Vanuatu has over the last decade experienced a significant growth in tourism and this has come to be a vital economic sector. It contributes significantly to the country's GDP and represents the largest foreign exchange earner. The majority of tourists in Vanuatu partake in diving activities at some point during their stay and thus dive tourism represents an important sub-sector. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have been highlighted to be more vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, adapting and building resilience will be key factors for Vanuatu to address. This paper provides an overview of the policy environment in Vanuatu. It highlights the policies that are directly impacting on the dive sector. It identifies the types of adaptation processes (explicit, implicit and functional) and critically analyses the current dive tourism related policies for their effectiveness in assisting the country and the dive tourism subsector deal with climate change. This study found that the Vanuatu policies impacting on the dive tourism sector are mainly dealing with climate change through functional adaptation processes and that a change to wards a more explicit approach to climate change is needed to ensure a sustainable tourism industry in Vanuatu

Tourism, the environment and sustainability: an exploration of Melanesian Constitutions

Tourism represents a large percentage of the GDP in many Pacific nations. Sustainable tourism has received significant coverage in the literature and the natural environment present great potential for tourism, with nature-based tourism a focus for growth, in Melanesian countries. A large number of species (flora and fauna) are affected by key threats, thereby, impacting biodiversity in the region. Both tourism and climate change can exacerbate these threats further. This can be partly dealt with through government policy. This paper aims to explore the constitutions of the Melanesian nations for the ability to facilitate sustainability and sustainable tourism through a content analysis. It was found that three Melanesian nations have a clause relating to the protection of the environment, creating a significant opportunity for these nations to promote sustainable tourism. Nevertheless, policy implementation is limited and the strength of government institutions in relation to the environment needs to be enhanced

“Buoyancy – bifo and afta” : a climate change vulnerability / resilience framework for tourism – the case study of Vanuatu dive tourism

The Earth's climate is changing. This affects physical, biological and social systems around the globe. Although it is recognised that tourism is a sector heavily affected by climate change, very little research has been undertaken on how tourism destinations/systems can adapt to climate change. Dive tourism represents a significant player in Vanuatu's economy and the country's tourism sector is highly vulnerable to climate change. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research on climate change adaptation for tourism in the Pacific, let alone in Vanuatu. In addressing the current research gaps, the overarching aim of this PhD thesis is to develop a conceptual climate change vulnerability/resilience (V/R) framework for tourism, using the dive tourism sub-sector in a specific area of Vanuatu as a case study

Policy Analysis - Republic of Vanuatu

The objective of this study was to create an inventory of policies that are pertinent to climate change adaptation of the Vanuatu tourism sector. The study was undertaken as part of the pacific Tourism Climate Change Adaptation Project (PT-CAP

Tourism adaptation to climate change in the South Pacific

Tourism in small island developing states (SIDS), including those in the South Pacific, is crucial to the social and economic development of their communities

Discovering what matters in a perfect day : a study of well-being of adventure tourists

If our lives are dominated by a search for well-being then perhaps few activities reveal as much about this quest as our travels (De Botton, 2003). This chapter deals with the following question: What phychological value do tourists get out of adventure holiday experiences

Climate change and dive tourism: Understanding the vulnerability of Luganville's dive tourism system to climate change

The Earth’s climate is changing. Tourism is an important economic sector in Vanuatu and is highly vulnerable to climate change. Luganville is a key dive tourism destination in the SANMA province of Vanuatu. This working paper aims to ascertain the current shocks and stressors faced by Luganville’s tourism sector and how climate change can exacerbate these. Although data is still in process of being analysed, key shocks that have been identified include cyclones, effect on demand due to media footage and changes to direct international flights whilst notable stressors include Crown of Thorn Starfish outbreaks and environmental degradation. A majority of the tourism sector in Luganville is run by the expatriate community, which is fairly sceptical towards climate change risks and the majority of members of this community show little concern for the consequent impact on their business. On the other hand, the Ni-­‐Vanuatu (Indigenous) communities are terrified about the impacts of climate change and feel limited in their capacity to address these changes. There is a clear need to disseminate information about the challenges tourism will face, as a result of climate change, and to develop effective adaptation options for implementation at different levels. Official proceedings of the 21st Annual CAUTHE Conference 8-11 February 2011, The Hawke Building, City West Campus, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australi