Marine tourism in the face of global change: the resilience of enterprises to crises in Thailand and Australia

Biggs, Duan, Hicks, Christina C., Cinner, Joshua E., and Hall, C. Michael (2015) Marine tourism in the face of global change: the resilience of enterprises to crises in Thailand and Australia. Ocean & Coastal Management, 105. pp. 65-74.

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Abstract

Marine-oriented nature-based tourism plays an important socio-economic role, and provides an incentive for conservation in many coastal regions. However, accelerating global change, and the associated socio-economic and political change may have severe consequences for marine tourism at the local level. Thus, understanding the ability of sectors within marine tourism to cope with, and adapt to, change is paramount. Private sector enterprises are key players in marine tourism and their capacity to adapt to change will vary across socio-economic and governance contexts. Thus, the resilience of these enterprises (their ability to adapt to, and continue to function under changing pressures and circumstances) is critical for the future of the marine tourism sector more broadly. This paper examines how socioeconomic and governance contexts influence the resilience of coral reef tourism enterprises in three settings: the formal and informal sector in Phuket, Thailand and enterprises on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Although there are differences between the three groups of enterprises, lifestyle factors, human capital, perceived reef condition, and government support are associated with the resilience of enterprises across all three groups. These findings suggest that policy-makers should consider enterprise lifestyle benefits, and that a nuanced understanding of marine tourism enterprises is required.

Item ID: 41756
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1873-524X
Keywords: resilience, crises, global change, climate change, adaptation, coral reefs, adaptive capacity, vulnerability
Funders: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
Date Deposited: 08 Dec 2015 18:25
FoR Codes: 15 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 1506 Tourism > 150603 Tourism Management @ 40%
05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0501 Ecological Applications > 050101 Ecological Impacts of Climate Change @ 40%
06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060205 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl Marine Ichthyology) @ 20%
SEO Codes: 90 COMMERCIAL SERVICES AND TOURISM > 9098 Environmentally Sustainable Commercial Services and Tourism > 909899 Environmentally Sustainable Commercial Services and Tourism not elsewhere classified @ 40%
96 ENVIRONMENT > 9607 Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards > 960701 Coastal and Marine Management Policy @ 30%
96 ENVIRONMENT > 9603 Climate and Climate Change > 960311 Social Impacts of Climate Change and Variability @ 30%
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