Climate Change and Its Impact on Romanian Rural Tourism—A Review of Actionable Knowledge

Abstract

Various motivations are at the basis of tourists’ choice for rural destinations, and among them natural environment and outdoor activities hold a significant weight. This makes tourism vulnerable to climate change through the direct effect of changes in the attractivity of climate conditions, in addition to the indirect effects due to the expected impacts on other associated socio-economic sectors. In this context, increasing rural tourism resilience to climate change is a complex issue which needs to consider adaptation measures focusing on tourism specifics in synergy with adaptation measures in related sectors (e.g., energy, land and water management, urbanization aspects). Expected impacts, vulnerability and resilience of tourism to climate change are research issues more and more addressed in the recent years and their assessment at national or even local scales becomes increasingly important for designing effective adaptation measures. The study aims to present a summary of current knowledge related to the impact of climate change on Romanian tourism and, in particular, on rural tourism. Also, a synthesis of the available climate information tailored for the Romanian tourism sector is presented, focusing on actionable information that may be employed to reduce the negative effects of climate change on Romanian rural tourism.