Coastal tourism space in the context of climate change: discourses and strategies

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to explore how climate change and the discourses about adaptation to climate change are altering the spatial development of the tourism industry in coastal destinations. The paper also identifies how tourist development and climate change adaptation can be combined to transform space and place, especially in coastal tourism areas. Design/methodology/approach Using a theoretical approach based on the concept of production of space, the study focuses on relational space, relationships expressed through representations of space and social practices. A case study method is used to analyze the socio-geographic processes at work in the adaptation to climate change in a coastal tourism community in Quebec, Canada. The analysis of the study utilized Nvivo with thematic textual queries. Findings The results reveal an adaptation process at work, based on a “hold the line” strategy, where private stakeholders choose to invest in defensive structures to mitigate the impact of rising sea levels and erosion. This strategy reflects coordinated action in the face of the risk and to protect high-value land property. Research limitations/implications This research illustrates how tourism and climate change adaptation discourses intersect. It also reveals how tourism development promotes the values and image of coastal space and how this can conflict with an efficient climate change adaptation strategy. Originality/value This research provides guidelines for coastal tourism communities, enabling them to design their own climate change adaptation strategy, taking into account how the different social discourses and tourism practices interact with climate change adaptation. It also provides some insights into the criteria that influence an effective climate change adaptation strategy.

Space in transformation: Public versus private climate change adaptation in peripheral coastal tourism areas—Case studies from Quebec, Canada

“…planning discourses at play in and on those spaces. As in our previous research (Lapointe & Sarrasin, 2018;Lapointe et al, 2016), we stressed the importance of those discourses in the (re)production of tourism space and how it combined with climate change and risk discourses in the (re)production process. Buzinde et al (2010) stressed that tourists' social representations are important because they guide their preferences for destinations and activities, but as we see in our cases, the local community's social representations are also very important in defining how land will be used and how it will adapt to climate change.…”

“…These spatial dynamics operate on different scales (e.g., national policies and international agreements ;Lépy et al, 2014), and they imply the response capacity (Plante, 2011), social representation of place, and sense of belonging of local communities (Amundsen, 2015). Despite the fact that the representations identified by Amundsen (2015) are directly involved in the spatial dynamics and material practices at work in tourism development in these destinations (Buzinde, Manuel-Navarrete, Yoo, & Morais, 2010;Lapointe et al, 2016;Manuel-Navarrete & Pelling, 2015), adaptation to climate change research in the tourism industry has paid little attention to the territorial dimensions of adaptation and its nonclimatic factors (Kaján & Saarinen, 2013). The territorial dimension reveals the propensity of local communities to come to an understanding of what space and place means to them and to organize themselves in order to collectively create initiatives and actions that meet shared objectives (Di Méo & Buléon, 2005;LaFontaine & Jean, 2005).…”

“…Finally, this work has emerged from our previous research projects. It is part of a collective approach, led by (Lapointe, Lebon & Guillemard, ; Lapointe & Sarrasin, ; Lapointe, Sarrasin & Guillemard, ; Lebon & Lapointe, ), who, since 2013, has been interested in the connections between tourism and climate change in the St. Lawrence River region and the unique and interdependent relationship the Quebecers have with the St. Lawrence River. Our background in regional studies has led us to focus on the realities of spaces in the peripheries.…”

“…In light of the results of our previous work, this can be analysed through evolving representations of local communities facing the transformation of locally valued tourism resources and the spatial strategies they apply in light of those transformations (Lapointe & Sarrasin, ). Furthermore, land tenure influences adaptation strategies and policies (Quan & Dyer, ), especially in the context of highly valued tourism land markets (Lapointe et al, ; Lapointe & Sarrasin, ). Therefore, through social representation and spatial practice observation, we will now analyse the (re)production of space through a private/public tenure differentiation.…”

“…Adaptation to climate change integrates processes of social production of space and risk (Lapointe et al, ). Risk represents a threat because it is based on a series of calculations and probabilities emanating from a scientific discourse on the potential occurrence of a future danger.…”