Climate change adaptation of the tourism sector in the Bolivian Andes
Raoul Kaenzig, Martine Rebetez & Gaelle Serquet
| Résumé |
Over the last 40 years, warmer temperatures have caused a
considerable decrease in snow cover on glaciers and high rates of
glacial melt, particularly in tropical mountains. In the Bolivian
Andes, the Chacaltaya glacier (5400 masl) had been a tourist
destination known as the highest ski slope in the world since 1939.
As a result of climate change, skiing has not been possible after
1987 and the glacier definitely disappeared in 2009. However, since
2005, the place has become a new attraction for tourists. Travel
agencies in La Paz now offer day trips to the Chacaltaya site. In
order to understand the present attraction of the site and its
potential for reproduction elsewhere, 25 semi-structured interviews
were conducted with various categories of stakeholders involved in
the tourism industry in La Paz, and archives and images were
analysed. Our results show that the multifunctional character of
this tourist site, including easy access to a summit, beautiful
views, acclimatisation to altitude and opportunity to experience
snow, are key factors in its renewed attraction for visitors,
together with, to a lesser extent, the incentive of being able to
watch a famous and evident full disappearance of a glacier and
former ski slope. The stakeholders' groups share general views and
perceptions about environmental changes and about the qualities of
the site, but they also differ in terms of projects and evaluation
of potential attractiveness. In particular, the development of the
visibility of climate change impacts on mountain environment is
valued by experts or by members of the Andean Club, but not by
travel agencies. The example of Chacaltaya shows that
multifunctional tourist sites may still be attractive in the
future. |
| Mots-clés |
Andes, Bolivia, Chacaltaya glacier, climate change, glacial retreat, landscape, ski resort, tourism |
| Citation | Kaenzig, R., Rebetez, M., & Serquet, G. (2016). Climate change adaptation of the tourism sector in the Bolivian Andes. Tourism Geographies, online, 1-12. |
| Type | Article de périodique (Anglais) |
| Date de publication | 8-2-2016 |
| Nom du périodique | Tourism Geographies |
| Volume | online |
| Pages | 1-12 |
| URL | http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616688.2016... |
| Liée au projet | CliMig |