No time for smokescreen skepticism: a rejoinder to Shani and Arad

Authors

C. Michael Hall, University of Johannesburg, University of Linnaeus, University of Oulu, University of Canterbury, Christchurch
Bas Amelung, Wageningen University
Scott Cohen, University of Surrey
Eke Eijgelaar, Nhtv Breda University of Applied Sciences, Breda
Stefan Gossling, Lund University
James Higham, University of Otago
Rik Leemans, Wageningen University
Paul Peeters, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences
Yael Ram, Ashkelon Academic College
Daniel Scott, University of Waterloo
Carlo Aall, Vestlandsforsking, Norway
Bruno Abegg, University of Innsbruck
Jorge E. Arana, Universidad De Las Palmas De Gran Canaria
Stewart Barr, University of Exeter
Susanne Becken, Griffith University
Ralf Buckley, Griffith University
Peter Burns, University of Bedfordshire
Tim Coles, University of Exeter
Jackie Dawson, Universite´ D'Ottawa
Rouven Doran, University of Bergen
Ghislain Dubois, Conseil Et Recherche En Politiques Climatiques
David Timothy Duval, University of Winnipeg
David Fennell, Brock University
Alison M. Gill, Simon Fraser University
Martin Gren, University of Linnaeus
Werner Gronau, Fachhochschule Stralsund
Jo Guiver, University of Central Lancashire
Debbie Hopkins, University of Otago
Edward H. Huijbens, Icelandic Tourism Research Centre
Ko Koens, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences
Machiel Lamers, Wageningen University
Christopher Lemieux, Wilfred Laurier University
Alan Lew, North Arizona University
Patrick Long, University of Colorado, East Carolina University
Frans W. Melissen, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences
Jeroen Nawijn, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences
Sarah Nicholls, Michigan State University
Jan-Hendrik Nilsson, Lund University
Robin Nunkoo, University of Mauritius
Alan A. Pomering, University of WollongongFollow
Arianne C. Reis, Southern Cross University
Dirk Reiser, Cologne Business School
Robert B. Richardson, Michigan State University
Christian M. Rogerson, University of Johannesburg
Jarkko Saarinen, University of Johannesburg, University of Oulu
Anna Dora Saeporsdottir, University of Iceland
Robert Steiger, MCI Management Center Innsbruck
Paul Upham, University of Leeds
Sander Van Der Linden, London School of Economics and Political Science, Yale University
Gustav Visser, University of Free State
Geoffrey Wall, University of Waterloo
David Weaver, Griffith University

RIS ID

95635

Publication Details

Hall, C. Michael., Amelung, B., Cohen, S., Eijgelaar, E., Gossling, S., Higham, J., Leemans, R., Peeters, P., Ram, Y., Scott, D., Aall, C., Abegg, B., Arana, J. E., Barr, S., Becken, S., Buckley, R., Burns, P., Coles, T., Dawson, J., Doran, R., Dubois, G., Duval, D. Timothy., Fennell, D., Gill, A. M., Gren, M., Gronau, W., Guiver, J., Hopkins, D., Huijbens, E. H., Koens, K., Lamers, M., Lemieux, C., Lew, A., Long, P., Melissen, F. W., Nawijn, J., Nicholls, S., Nilsson, J., Nunkoo, R., Pomering, A., Reis, A. C., Reiser, D., Richardson, R. B., Rogerson, C. M., Saarinen, J., Saeporsdottir, A. Dora., Steiger, R., Upham, P., van der Linden, S., Visser, G., Wall, G. & Weaver, D. (2015). No time for smokescreen skepticism: a rejoinder to Shani and Arad. Tourism Management: research, policies, practice, 47 341-347.

Abstract

Shani and Arad (2014) claimed that tourism scholars tend to endorse the most pessimistic assessments regarding climate change, and that anthropogenic climate change was a "fashionable" and "highly controversial scientific topic". This brief rejoinder provides the balance that is missing from such climate change denial and skepticism studies on climate change and tourism. Recent research provides substantial evidence that reports on anthropogenic climate change are accurate, and that human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, including from the tourism industry, play a significant role in climate change. Some positive net effects may be experienced by some destinations in the short-term, but in the long-term all elements of the tourism system will be impacted. The expansion of tourism emissions at a rate greater than efficiency gains means that it is increasingly urgent that the tourism sector acknowledge, accept and respond to climate change. Debate on tourism-related adaptation and mitigation measures is to be encouraged and welcomed. Climate change denial is not.