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CR 38:61-73 (2008)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00774

Preferred climates for tourism: case studies from Canada, New Zealand and Sweden

Daniel Scott1,*, Stefan Gössling2, C. R. de Freitas3

1Department of Geography, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
2Department of Service Management, Lund University, PO Box 882, 251 08 Helsingborg, Sweden
3School of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

ABSTRACT: Climate has an important influence on the travel decisions of tourists. This paper reviews the distinct lines of inquiry that have been used to examine the influence of climate on tourist decision making, and attempts to define optimal climatic conditions for tourism. The study examined tourist perceptions of optimal climatic conditions (for temperature, sunshine, wind) and the relative importance of 4 climatic parameters (temperature, precipitation, sunshine, wind) in 3 major tourism environments (beach-coastal, urban, mountains). A survey instrument was administered to university students (n = 831) representing the young-adult travel segment, in 3 countries (Canada, New Zealand, Sweden). Three salient findings include: significant variation in the perceived optimum climatic conditions for the 3 major tourism environments, differences in the relative importance of the 4 climatic parameters in the 3 tourism environments, and similarities as well as differences in the climatic preferences of respondents from the 3 nations. These findings have several implications for the literature on climate and tourism, including the development of climate indices for tourism, destination choice and travel pattern modelling, and climate change impact assessments. When applied to a broader cross-cultural sample of tourist segments, the present approach could potentially reveal the complexities of tourist preferences for climate.


KEY WORDS: Climate · Tourism · Tourism climate index · Weather


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Cite this article as: Scott D, Gössling S, de Freitas CR (2008) Preferred climates for tourism: case studies from Canada, New Zealand and Sweden. Clim Res 38:61-73. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00774

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