Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch

Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tourism in the Rio-Process | PositioningpaperWhat will happen to tourism?Economically, tourism has become the dominant economic activity throughout virtually theentire region which receives 32 percent of all international tourist traffic (Hallegatet, Somot, &Nassopoulos, 2009). The Mediterranean received around 300 million tourists in 2008, with100 million more predicted for 2025. 80 percent of this tourism is based on sun, sand andbeach resorts, and the trend is stable. In fact, the Mediterranean is the great swimming pool ofthe world, and has ranked as the first international tourist destination for decades. However,with rising temperatures the states sending the largest numbers of tourists to the region, theCentral and Northern EU countries, which supply 90 percent of visitors to the Basin's beaches,will witness a marked reduction in the desire to travel due to global warming, as they willenjoy neo-Mediterranean temperatures at home. The days of coastal tourism reliant on lowcostairlines may be numbered.International tourism in the Mediterranean (2010)States and territories Millions of touristsFrance 76.8Spain 52.6Italy 43.6Turkey 27.0Greece 15.0Egypt 14.0Croatia 9.3 [2009]Morocco 9.2Syria 8.5Tunisia 6.9Israel 2.8Cyprus 2.1Lebanon 2.1Algeria 1.9 [2009]Malta 1.3Palestine 0.5At the same time, merchandise logistics in large port areas throughout the region and exportagriculture in the South and the Levant constitute the other two major strategic alternativesfor the present regional economy. Climate change, however, increasingly threatens the futureof these three economic activities.This direct threat to the region's stake in tourism should clearly be placed in the context of thetourism sector's own responsibility for the climate. Traditionally, it has been estimated that54