Climate Change And The Visitor Industry: People, Place, Culture, And The Hawaii Experience A report for the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority

Over the next couple of decades climate change is expected to have an increasingly negative impact on Hawai‘i’s tourism sector, the state’s primary economic engine. Understanding the magnitude of this impact is necessary to develop targeted adaptation strategies. Using an analytical approach, we identify climate processes, their effects on ecosystems and human activities, the impacts on tourism resources, and feasible adaptation strategies. This report also suggests priority sectors that should be involved in adaptation in support of tourism, identifies regions potentially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and compiles the available information about the economic value of tourism resources in Hawai‘i. Grant no. NA09OAR4171060