Climate Services to Support Adaptation of the Caribbean Tourism Sector

The Caribbean tourism sector is critically important to the Caribbean economy and highly sensitive to climate change and its impacts. Climate-sensitive industries are exploring how to make best use of outputs of climate models, weather forecasting tools and early warning systems as strategies to boost their viability as climate change intensifies. Tools such as these can facilitate informed decision-making that minimizes climate risk and maximizes opportunities arising from extreme weather occurring in visitors countries of origin or in competing regions. This research project investigates the feasibility of using of historic climate data to account for observed trends/seasonality in historic visitor arrivals to the Caribbean, and tests to what extent these relationships hold under a range of conditions. The results of work will inform the development of specific, spatially and temporally-explicit climate information products to support public and private decision makers in the regions tourism sector.

Faculty Supervisor:

Daniel Scott

Student:

Lindsay Matthews

Partner:

Essa Technologies Ltd

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Sports and recreation

University:

Program: