London scoping - ukcip

Final Report
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Table 7.9 Potential impacts of climate change on holiday destinations
Location Climate Change impacts
Greece & Turkey Heat stress/mortality; water supply restrictions; forest fires, urban smog
Southern Spain Re-emergence of malaria; heat stress; flash floods; forest fires
Florida & S.E. coastline of USA Sea level rises affecting recreation and tourist activities concentrated along the
state’s beaches; severe storms discouraging holiday makers; erosion and coral
bleaching; threat to geomorphology and ecology
To exploit this possible opportunity will require maintaining a high quality environment,
efficient transport systems and sufficient capacity to cope with a rise in tourist numbers (visitor
management). If climate change also results in increased visitors to the UK as a whole, this
would have implications for London, since the city’s airports and stations are the gateway to
most visitors to the UK. On the other hand, heat waves might deter visitors to London. In the
workshop, it was recognised that tourists do still visit Italian and Spanish cities in the summer.
London in 50 years would be unlikely to exceed the temperature of popular tourist cities in
southern Europe now, so it seems unlikely that the temperature per se would be off-putting.
Indeed, if temperatures were to increase significantly in other cities which are currently popular
tourist destinations, such as Venice, Florence, Rome, Barcelona, Seville, New York, etc., then it
could be argued that they would indeed become less attractive tourist destinations, at least
during the summer. In this case, there could be a transferral of visitors to London from those
cities, at least during the hotter parts of the year. Many hotels in London do not have air
conditioning at present, however. This, or alternative means of cooling rooms, would be
necessary to provide a high quality destination. Similarly, cafes, restaurants, visitor attractions
and retail centres would also require air cooling systems to remain at a high quality. Increased
air pollution related to climate change would likely have an adverse impact upon tourism, as is
suggested from the experience of Athens and Los Angeles.
The changing climate may also have an impact upon the availability of some natural
recreational resources Rivers, canals and other bodies of water would probably become more
attractive destinations, provided that water quality could be maintained sufficiently. The draft
London Plan includes the Blue Ribbon strategy which sets out a comprehensive agenda for
utilising canals and rivers and other water bodies for leisure, recreation, tourism, redevelopment
and commerce (GLA 2002a). As noted above, river-based commuting would be a cool option
for some. There would be greater demands placed upon the existing swimming pools, of which
there are 144 in Greater London, and outdoor recreation centres, including sites such as the
Hampstead Heath Ponds. The Royal Parks would perhaps make their water bodies available for
bathing, as they have done on very hot days in the past. This would carry with it health and
safety implications, however, since water quality would have to be inspected and potential
hazards from Lyme disease, broken glass and underwater objects, etc., would need to be
monitored.
Summer heat-waves in London and the heat island effect will encourage London residents to
leave the city for short recreational trips. Theme parks and similar out-of-town excursion
destinations may benefit. Destinations such as Thorpe Park, Surrey, which specialise in water
features may be expected to benefit substantially.