Экономические науки/15.Государственное регулирование экономики

Postgraduate student Golub M.O.

Simon Kuznetz Kharkiv National University of Economics, Ukraine

The Development of Government regulation process in the Sphere of Ecological tourism.

The tourism industry is one of the world’s largest, accounting for some 9% of global GDP and generating more than US Dollar(USD) 6 trillion in revenue each year. It provides livelihoods to more than 255 million people worldwide. The sector is particularly important for some of the world’s poorest countries, especially some Small Island States. The industry faces profound impacts from climate change – impacts that are already being felt [1]. Relevant tourism legislation may exist but not be fully or adequately implemented in Ukraine. This may be because of insufficient resources or technical knowledge, which may be addressed through the provision of well-directed support.

 Unfortunately, the problem of the impact of climate change on tourism and the process of government influence on this problem have been insufficiently learned in Ukraine. However, there are scientists who have made a great contribution to this issue:  O. Dmytruk, J. Zinkiv, B. Campbell, A. Lyubitseva, A. Stepanenko, T. Tkachenko, T.Adamenko,  M. Nicholls, S. Gossling, A. Challinor, J. Hansen, N. Kyrnasovska etc. The aim of this article is to analyze the impact of climate change on the tourism industry. 
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas, intended as a low-impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial (mass) tourism. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds for ecological conservation, to directly benefit the economic development [2].

Climate is a complex system itself is closely interrelated with the tourism system. Figure 1 depicts a schematic representation of the interactions between these two systems, the connections between the sub-systems that compose them, and the influences of other external systems which affect them [3].

Fig. 1 A system approach to the tourism-climate relationship

The tourism system influences the climate system mainly by the emission of greenhouse gases, both directly as a consequence of for example transport and indirectly through electricity uses [4].

Elements in the tourism system that can affect the climate system include changes in tourists’ demand for certain activities or destinations: for example, more or less demand for holidays using planes as the means of transport significantly affect the carbon footprint of tourism. Changes in the offer can also have an impact on the climate system as destinations might choose to promote activities with greater or lesser energy use than others. Finally, providers such as tour operators can influence demand, promoting short or long-haul destinations, whereas transport providers can invest in energy efficiency to reduce emissions related with the movement of
tourists [4].

Climate change is one of the most serious threats to society, the economy and the environment. Changing climate and weather patterns are already changing travel demand and tourist flows, and this in turn is impacting tourism businesses, host communities and other related sectors such as agriculture, handicrafts and construction [5].  As temperatures rise, the attractiveness of many destinations will fade. Winter sports will become less viable in some locations. Coastal tourism is highly vulnerable to rising sea levels [1]. The changes which can be now observed are presented on the Fig. 2.
 

- Hotspot - Regional knowledge gaps

WS = warmer summer	LB = land biodiversity loss	D = increase in disease outbreaks
WW = warmer winter	MB = marine biodiversity loss	TCI = travel cost increase from mitigation policy
SLR = sea level rise	W = water scarcity	EE = increase in extreme events
PD = political destabilization

Fig. 2 Tourism “Vulnerability” Hotspots [5]

Environmental responsibility also makes economic sense – increased efficiency means greater profits and reassurance of long-term sustainability for investors. In addition, demand for responsible business is increasing as consumers are more conscious of the environmental implications of travelling [5].

Climate change is a challenge requiring the participation and support of all tourism stakeholders – it is only through effective collaboration that the tourism sector will drive a global response to climate change [5]. The analysis of vulnerability to climate change is a key element in the development of current and future management strategies for tourism destinations. It requires consistent and structured methodologies of adaption [6].

The imperative for adaption to climate change has advanced substantially within the scientific community and moved higher up the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and national policy agendas over the past decade. Adaption can be to contemporary climate variability and extremes or to future climate change [6]. It can take many forms: technical, policy, planning, legal, economic, institutional and behavioral. Table 1 illustrates a diverse range of technological, managerial, policy and behavioral adaptions that are currently used to deal with climate variability at the business and destination levels [7].

Table 1

Portfolio of climate adaptions utilized by tourism stakeholders

Type of adaption	Tourism operators/ businesses	Tourism industry associations	Governments and communities	Financial sector (investors/insurance)
1	2	3	4	5
Technical	· Snowmaking · Shore-protection structures, beach nourishment · Rainwater-collection and water-recycling system · Cyclone-proof building design and structure	· Pilot-test structural adaptions · Develop websites with practical information on adaption measures	· Reservoirs and desalination plants · Shore-protection structures, beach nourishment · Weather forecasting and early warning systems	· Develop and test advanced building design or material (fire-hurricane resistant) standards for insurance · Provide information to customers

Ending of table 1

1	2	3	4	5
	· Water conservation plans · Low-season closures	·Use short-term seasonal forecast to plan marketing activities	· Fee structures for water · Coral bleaching response plan	· Adjust insurance premiums or not renew insurance policies
Managerial	· Product and market diversification · Regional diversification in business operations · Redirect clients away from impacted destinations	·Snow condition reports through media ·Training programs on climate change adaption ·Encourage environmental management with firms (e.g. via certification)	· Demand-side management programmes (water, energy) · Convention/event interruption insurance · Business subsides (e.g. insurance or energy costs)	· Require use of advanced building standards · Restrict lending to high-risk business operations · Include social cost of carbon in financing and credit risk assessments

The availability of these adaption options will be context-specific and will vary according to environmental characteristics, government jurisdiction and tourism marketplace or business model. Climate adaptations that are rarely undertaken in isolation as a single, discrete action, but commonly involve multiple adaptations that are very specific to the destination climate and its tourism products [7].

Unfortunately, this is a very vital question but at the same time, we can’t say, that it is able to use this adaption system in Ukraine. The solution to this problem can be the improvement of the ecotourism legislative level. First of all, we should promulgate Ecotourism Law. Then, it is necessary to establish a set of legal system of ecotourism and to strengthen the supervision to the government in the implementation of ecotourism laws and regulations. Therefore, we should strengthen the judiciary’s supervision to the implementation of ecotourism law and play the overall efficiency of ecotourism legal supervision.

Our knowledge and understanding of the ways by which climate change is manifesting itself and will affect the environment and society have improved substantially in recent years. That’s why government should establish the system of ecotourism planning to weaken the external diseconomy of ecotourism. Moreover, it should protect the ecological environment of ecotourism for the survival and development, and at last promote the ecotourism to develop continuously and healthy.

References

1. European Climate Foundation. [Electronic resource]. – Access mode : http://europeanclimate.org

2. Honey M. Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise? (Second ed.). – Washington DC: Island Press, 2008. – 568 p. 

3. Rind D. Complexity and climate / Rind D. – Science № 284, 1999. –
p. 105-107.

4. Survey on the attitudes of Europeans towards tourism. Brussels: European Commission [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: http://ec.europa.eu

5. World Tourism Organization UNWTO [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: http://www.unwto.org

6. Scott D. Tourism and Climate Change. Impacts, Mitigation and Adaptation / Scott D.H., Hall M., Colin M., Gössling S. – London: Routledge, 2012. – 464 p.

7. Scott D. Weather and Climate Information for Tourism / Scott D.,
Lemieux C. – White Paper commissioned for World Climate Conference 3, Geneva and Madrid: World Meteorological Organization and United Nations World Tourism Organization. – 2009.