The pilot area of Auronzo di Cadore (Belluno) - Università Ca

ponentially increased the number of competitors and changed the behaviour
of travellers. The cost of energy is progressively eroding the margins
of return for the accommodation and the transportation compartments.
Water availability and cost is increasingly becoming an issue for the artificial
snow production. These elements are, per se, justifiable reasons to
question the traditional development model based on the ski-based “white
dream” which has prevailed since the seventies. On the contrary Alpine
tourism needs trademarks (e.g. Pearls of the Alps), innovativeness and flexibility.
4. Adaptation should be mainstreamed into long-term tourism planning.
Adaptation to climate change should not be considered in isolated
terms. Climate change is just another pressure that is adding up to tourism
systems already under pressure that have specific strengths and weaknesses.
While tourism demand is very adaptive and the tourists’ behaviour
is constantly and rapidly evolving, the tourism supply, meaning the Alpine
destinations as a whole, need more time to plan their actions in order to respect
their social, economic and environmental constraints. There certainly
are autonomous actions (e.g. artificial snow, ski-pistes design, etc. ) that
can be taken by the tourism suppliers, but the most crucial part of the adaptation
effort will be played by the so called “planned adaptation”. Therefore
adaptation should be regarded as a thoughtful and concerted process
of tourism development planning for the long-term, and definitely beyond
the mandate of one political administration. Climate change is but an opportunity
to involve the most appropriate set of local stakeholders into the
process of definition of the actions to be taken for improving the sustainability
of tourism within each Alpine resort.
5. There are “no regret” actions to be taken. Some tourism related issues
are particularly crucial for the Alpine Region beyond the impacts due to climate
change. An Alpine tourism destination needs to be identifiable. Local
culture, handicraft, gastronomy and agriculture are elements of strength,
among the destination’s specificities, and should be incentivised. Other
crucial factors that can have huge impact on the Alpine tourism are transportation
and energy. A sound reflection about how to improve their sustainability
might be appropriate for most of the Alpine resorts.
6. People of the Alps are ready. Raising the awareness of the stakeholders
including tourists, population and businesses on the impact of climate
change on tourism in the Alps is one of the goals of the whole project.
However, in the participatory workshops that have been taking place during
the duration of the project the local stakeholders have shown to be the
sentinels of the climatic changes that have already happened. They are
already deeply interested and aware about this issue. Moreover they have
expressed the desire for a higher degree of inclusivity and participation.
Indeed, what is still missing in many destinations is the capacity to let the
stakeholders sit together around one table and agree on the way to proceed
for improving the situation. In the pilot sites where it has been tested, the
ClimAlpTour e-tool has provided the opportunity and the methodology to
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