Description

The Alps will experience some of the most pronounced effects of climate change, placing socio-economic stresses on alpine communities, particularly those that rely on seasonal tourism. How stakeholders need to respond to climate change within the Alps has been well documented in the academic literature, with studies focussing on measures to minimise damage on winter ski tourism and from increased natural hazards. Concepts of adaptation measures were tested on stakeholders from the private and public sector within two case study areas within the Swiss Alps, both part of the communes of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Jungfrau Aletsch Bietschorn. A series of semi-structured interviews took place to assess the response of stakeholders from the private and public sectors across the local, regional and national level to the increasing risks of climate change on their economic livelihoods. Adaptation strategies were found to be evenly segmented across the different sectors and levels, but to focus almost entirely on maintaining the status quo of winter tourism, while increasing the market share of summer tourism for the destination.