Last chance to see the ice: visitor motivation at Montenvers-Mer-de-Glace, French Alps

Abstract

motivation, four dimensions are revealed: observing, understanding, a sense of urgency, and witnessing environmental changes. Moreover, the more respondents are aware of climate change, the more they consider LCT motivations important. These results lead us to link LCT to cognitive dissonance. Finally, we propose that future research should explore LCT and its relationship with media coverage and proenvironmental behaviours.

Last chance tourism: a decade review of a case study on Churchill, Manitoba’s polar bear viewing industry

“…Some tourists will embark on LCT experiences to support their self-perceived ethical and environmental values, along with their desire to learn about wildlife and environmental issues (Groulx et al, 2016;Lemelin, 2006;Lemelin et al, 2008;Miller et al, 2020). Others perceive their travels as a prestigious experience, believing they are 'awarded' an elite traveler's status by visiting a vulnerable location containing a rare feature or landscape (Lemelin et al, 2012;Salim & Ravanel, 2020).…”

“…Although it does not appear to significantly shape travel decisions like carbon offsetting (see Groulx, Boluk, et al, 2019), most LCT tourists have some understanding about climate change and report a desire to learn about the situation and what they can do to reduce their impacts (Denley et al, 2020;Groulx et al, 2016;Gunter, 2018;Piggott-McKellar & McNamara, 2017). In Montenvers-Mer-de-Glace, visitors were motivated to see the disappearing glaciers to understand and observe the impacts of climate change and to share these experiences with future generations (Salim & Ravanel, 2020).…”

“…Despite growing global awareness of climate change and increasing recognition of the especially rapid and influential impacts on the Arctic, last chance tourists' travel behaviour seems resistant to change (Denley et al, 2020). Visitors travelling to Montenvers-Mer-de Glace were aware of the anthropogenic influence on climate change but continued to travel to see the glacier despite the greenhouse gas impacts causes by tourism (Salim & Ravanel, 2020). Moreover, as Dawson et al (2010) suggests, there is still a lack of conceptual clarity among tourists about how destinations are impacted by anthropogenic activities.…”

“…Educational programs are often proposed in helping tourists learn about the impacts of climate change on the LCT destinations, however, there is often a lack of emphasis about what tourists specifically can do (Dawson et al, 2010;Groulx et al, 2016;Miller et al, 2020). Montenvers-Mer-de-Glace, for example, is evolving to make this destination not only a place for glacier viewing but as a major site of climate change education (Salim & Ravanel, 2020). With the rise in social media influencing people to travel to LCT destinations, Kucukergin and G€ urlek (2020) stress the need for area experts to provide posts about the state of Lake Salda and to encourage tourists take actions to prevent the disappearance of this destination.…”

“…Research on LCT destinations has evolved since this first study, expanding beyond polar bear viewing to areas around the world (e.g., the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, cruise tourism in Antarctica, glacier viewing in Montenvers-Mer-de-Glace). In addition, these studies provide a better understanding of tourists' motivations to travel, as well as opportunities for LCT destinations to reduce the effects of climate change (Groulx et al, 2016;Lemieux et al, 2018;Miller et al, 2020;Piggott-McKellar & McNamara, 2017;Salim & Ravanel, 2020). Despite these efforts, few studies have quantified the carbon intensity of a LCT destination (see Eijgelaar et al, 2010 for an exception), and no known studies have examined a tourism destination on the longitudinal scale to identify how carbon intensity in these LCT markets may evolve over time.…”