*Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report

Context

Yvo de Boer, Head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, has warned that it is "undeniable that the financial crisis will have an impact on the climate-change negotiations." This makes it more important than ever to contribute to the climate change debate in tourism, as the temptation for firms and destination to cut back on both alleviation and mitigation increases.

At a time of increasing mobility, ease of travel and the emergence of new destinations, tourism is both a victim of, and contributor to climate change. However, this symbiotic relationship remains shrouded in fuzzy data, myths and mystery. Given that the industry servicing 'people on the move' is central to most economies and cultures, the option to 'give up' tourism is simply not tenable. Responsive actions must be identified to enable travel and tourism to deliver the peak experiences that tourists seek, but with a lower carbon footprint.

Conference themes

Industry perspectives, full papers, presentations, work in progress, and posters were invited under the following themes:

• Climate change at the moment of financial crisis
• Innovative approaches in adaptation and mitigation processes and protocols
• Reducing 'Hotspot' Vulnerability (i.e. destinations affected by and /or dependent on tourism)
• Emerging generating and receiving countries
• The controversial nature of Media and Marketing
• Supply Chain contributors (i.e. tour operators, airlines and other means of transport, accommodation, attractions, tourism corporations and local producers)
• Educational providers (i.e capacity building and knowledge management)
  The role of Destination Management Organizations (DMOs)
• The role of NGOs
• The climate change challenge for developing countries/majority world