4th December 2020 - 3rd Online Seminar

As a result of global warming and climate change, the frequency of man-made disasters and catastrophes has and will continue to increase significantly. Tourism is on one hand a significant contributor to climate change and so man-made disasters and on the other hand it is a victim of them, as they significantly affect economic activity. Unsustainable tourism development itself increases the vulnerabilities to disasters of communities in and around tourism destinations.
The COVID-crises have resulted in an incomparable downturn in tourism. In many countries, tourism and related infrastructure development are being prioritised in post-Covid recovery and rehabilitation programmes under the myth of their trickle-down effects.
This online seminar aims to help analyse and discuss the following issues:

1. How could the climate crisis affect tourism in the future? What would tourism development that incorporates the effects of more frequent disasters look like?
2. How does the vulnerability of communities and marginalised groups interact with different crises, such as climate change and Covid? What social effects do disasters have on vulnerable groups and what must be done to reduce their vulnerability?
3. How are and how should recovery programmes be designed to make destinations and communities better prepared for future man-made disasters? What can we already learn from previous catastrophes to inform future disaster-preparedness?

Stefan Gössling - Linnaeus University, Sweden
Jesu Rathinam –Director of SNEHA and Convenor of Coastal Action Network, India
Alejandro Palafox –University of Quintana Roo, Mexico
Pankaj Sekhsaria – Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India

Moderation and welcome remarks:
Ernest Cañada – Alba Sud, Spain
Antje Monshausen – Tourism Watch at Bread for the World, Germany