Weather Risk Management in Tourism Industry

Abstract

Globalisation, climate change, the global economic crisis, and the increasing political instability have multiplied the risk factors in the tourism industry. Climate change, in particular the variability of weather, hevily affects decision-making in the tourism industry. Indeed, tourism can be considered a highly weather-sensitive economic sector, but, at the same time, the tourism industry has a key role to play in dealing with the challenges of climate change. For their own survival, tourism firms should adopt actions aimed at promoting a risk reduction through urgent measures designed to combat climate change (reduction of energy consumption, switching to renewable energy sources, etc.). On the other hand, they should enable complementary interventions to share weather risks: from “accessory services”, such as tasting events, sport activities, wellness centers, which promote tourism attractiveness safeguarding territory sustainability, to rainfall derivatives, which are designed to protect tourism firms from excessive rainfall.