Impact of Climate Variability on Climate Beach-Based Tourism Aptitude: A Case Study in the Atlantic Coast of SW Europe
Departamento de Geografía, Urbanismo y Ordenación del Territorio, Universidad de Cantabria, 39005 Santander, Spain
Academic Editor: Andreas Matzarakis
Atmosphere 2021, 12(10), 1328; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12101328 (registering DOI)
The spatial and temporal variability of the summer (July–August) climate beach-based tourism aptitude along the Atlantic coast of SW Europe from 1973 to 2017 and its links with the atmospheric circulation has been analyzed, combining an empirical index and a circulation pattern approach.
Three different coastal sectors were defined from a PCA analysis: Galicia-N of Portugal, the Gulf of Biscay, and the western coast of France and the English Channel. Each region experienced a contrasted evolution due to geographical factors such as latitude, orography and exposure to the prevailing circulation patterns. No significant increase in aptitude was found because the background warming has not been balanced by trends in cloudiness or precipitation. Several possible causes are discussed, from local to large-scale, such as the recent evolution of the summer NAO pattern impacting the northernmost region.
1. Introduction
Research on Applied Climatology has focused on two main lines: one envisages the atmosphere as a risk system capable of endangering the natural environment and human activities, while for the other, the atmosphere is a natural resource for human development [1]. Tourism Climatology is included within the latter.
Tourism has become one of the most important economic activities in many countries and has been under continuous expansion over the past several decades, playing a relevant role in promoting the development of national economies [2]. Although there are multiple factors explaining the diversity of touristic activities, it is no less true that weather and climate resources play a relevant role on specific typologies.
Climate is undoubtedly the most important resource for most 3S (sand, sea, and sun) destinations. It directly drives the main intra- and interregional travel flows (mostly from temperate to subtropical and tropical regions), significantly influencing the number of visits [3]. Moreover, climate also regulates other natural assets, such as beach environments, land- and seascapes or regional biodiversity, supplementary natural resources which are additional attraction factors that improve the visitor’s satisfaction levels.
