Cyprus: Climate change and tourism, a sea change for the industry

Theodore Panayotou, Director of the Cyprus International Institute of Management, looks at how the tourist industry can adapt to climate change. He proposes a shift from mass tourism towards more alternative forms with a lower environmental impact and suggests the adoption of measures such as effective building codes (in relation to sea level, high tide and wind speed), monitoring, early warning, seawalls and protective coastal vegetation, drainage systems and insurance, among others.

"Global tourism profoundly affects, and is being affected by climate change and hence the tourism industry is a major stakeholder in global mitigation and adaptation efforts" he says.