The influence of learning on a tourism destination community’s responses to the impacts of climate change

Abstract

Climate change presents significant challenges for the sustainability of the tourism sector. Tourism destinations in developing countries have been identified as the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; however, little is known about the situation of climate change and the tourism sector in the developing world, despite the relative importance of tourism to the local economies. Building adaptive capacity is important to increase the capability of the local destination community stakeholders to manage the impacts of climate change on their business and on the broader destination. Considerable adaptation research has been conducted; however, adaptation discourses in the tourism sector are still predominantly focused on responding to the predicted impacts of future climate change rather than addressing the underlying factors that affect the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of tourism destinations and local community stakeholders. Recent research in social ecological systems has indicated that learning is an essential aspect of building adaptive capacity. In this context, social learning is emerging as an adaptation approach that addresses issues hindering adaptation, such as a lack of knowledge and awareness, and encourages a proactive response by human systems to climate change. Underpinned by the theories of climate change adaptation and social learning, this research seeks to understand the influence of learning on a destination community's responses to the impacts of climate change. The aim of this research was supported by four interrelated research objectives: 1) to examine community knowledge of climate change, 2) to identify the sources of information utilised by the community to construct climate change knowledge and the spaces used for knowledge sharing and learning, 3) to assess how local destination community stakeholders have applied their existing knowledge to adapt to climate change, and 4) to identify and assess the factors influencing the capacity of local destination stakeholders to learn to adapt to climate change. This research employed a qualitative, constructivist methodology to investigate the research issue in the context of the city of Hoi An, a well-known tourism destination in Vietnam. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 54 participants who represented a broad range of local destination community stakeholders (i.e., local government authorities, tourism businesses, residents, community-based organisations) and expert stakeholders who have knowledge about the scope of this research. The thesis reveals the following key findings. The overall conclusion is that the responses of Hoi An community stakeholders to the impacts of climate change are strongly determined by their perceptions of the importance of climate change to their businesses and to the broader destination; their ability to v Publications during candidature Conference abstracts and papers Pham, T. D. A. (2018). Knowledge management and climate change adaptation in tourism