Impact of Climate Change on Tourism and Adaptation Measures in Vjosa Basin
Esmeralda Laçi
Faculty of Humanities, University “Ismail Qemali” of Vlora, Vlora, Albania.
Sonila Papathimiu *
Faculty of History and Philology, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania.
Ermal Sina
National Agency of Coastline, Vlora Region, Vlora, Albania.
Sabri Laçi
Faculty of History and Philology, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Tourism is one of the most climate sensitive economic sectors, but at the same time, like many economic activities, it also contributes to climate change. The effects of climate change are becoming a growing concern, especially in the tourism sector, which urgently and needs to find solutions, especially considering its contribution to climate change.
Over the past decades there has been a growing interest in issues related to the connections between climate change and tourism. However, in much of this literature, the present climate change is often referred to as a new phenomenon, which presents the researchers with new challenges and problems. However, we must bear in mind that climate change is not a completely new phenomenon. In fact, over the course of history there have been various interactions between climate change and tourism and various approaches.
In this paper we have analyzed the impact of Climate Change on Tourism sector in the Vjosa Basin by taking in consideration different indicators and methods such as: indicators of capacity utilization of hotels and similar structures, tourists’ number and accommodation facilities, tourism climate index etc.
Keywords: Climate change, Vjosa Basin, tourism activity, impact, adaptation measures