Biophysical Factors
Biophysical factors affect tourism in two main ways. Firstly where will a tourist be encouraged to visit, and secondly how changes in the biophysical environment might impact on the way tourism operates. The syllabus divides up biophysical factors and ecological factors separately. Biophysical factors generally refer to the non-living environment (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere), while ecological factors generally refers to the living components of the environments (biosphere - special environments, animals, plants, etc).
The Biophysical factors which affect the operation of tourism at a global scale are:
Climate/weather
- influences tourist behaviour patterns, e.g. important tourist destinations such as France, Italy and Spain are all influences by a Mediterranean climate (warm to hot summers and cool winters with moderate rainfall).
- influences destination and length of stay
- determines the type of environment, e.g. deserts (Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Morocco)
- Some climatic conditions can deter tourists, e.g. monsoon conditions in South East Asia
- climate change - impact on snow season (reduce snow fall), impact on snorkelling, scuba (coral bleaching), inundation of some Pacific islands.
Soils
- soils and climate are closely related.
- Soils determine the type of vegetation that will grow and type of environment that forms
- can impact on how aesthetically appealing a location is e.g. white sand beachs v.s black sand beaches
Topography
- can impact on accessibility - how easy it is to get to a tourist location.
- Mountains - alpine/winter sports - Thredbo, Aspen, Trekking in Nepal.
- Topography can also relate to how easy it is to access certain locations.
- can impact on how it can operate e.g. have to build extra infrastructure (ski lifts) or extra reinforcement/regulations when building (e.g. in case of landslide)
- can limit tourist activity and infrastructure, e.g. towards the top of MT Everest there is limited support for tourists.
Site/ Natural features
- Unique landscapes, e.g. Grand Canyon
- Aesthetically appealing landscapes - islands, reefs, glaciers, national parks, waterfalls - e.g. Yosemite National
Park, Alaska, Great Barrier Reef, Victoria Falls.
- unspoilt, uninhabited, untouched - e.g Tahiti
- recognition of the significance of the site by national and international organisations increases tourism numbers. e.g. UNESCO World Heritage Sites, protection of endangered species or ecosystems. This can result in increased advertising, more scrutiny over protection measures.
- tourists attracted to the biggest. highest, longest features e.g. Amazon River.
- unusual locations - e.g on the outskirts of Chernobyl
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How or where does tourism operate?
Arguably the biggest biophysical factor to impact on the operation of tourism in the future will be the impact of climate change. Some particular tourism sectors will be adversely affected by climate change. The skiing industry and the associated tourism will be impacted by the reduction in snow falls. Tourism to particularly sensitive environments, e.g. the Great Barrier Reef will be affected by changes of destruction of these ecosystems or environments.
Alternatively climate changes and melting ice shelves may actually open up vast areas that have previously been inaccessible to tourist operators.
Climate change could harm Hawaii’s wildlife & tourism industry
Melting moments
Impacts of climate change on tourism in Europe
Tourism operators question ports water quality monitoring
Global Warming will let Arctic tourism push the boat out
Snowfields a generation away from climate meltdown, report warns
Environment is our economy: Tourism wakes up to reef in peril
Arguably the biggest biophysical factor to impact on the operation of tourism in the future will be the impact of climate change. Some particular tourism sectors will be adversely affected by climate change. The skiing industry and the associated tourism will be impacted by the reduction in snow falls. Tourism to particularly sensitive environments, e.g. the Great Barrier Reef will be affected by changes of destruction of these ecosystems or environments.
Alternatively climate changes and melting ice shelves may actually open up vast areas that have previously been inaccessible to tourist operators.
Climate change could harm Hawaii’s wildlife & tourism industry
Melting moments
Impacts of climate change on tourism in Europe
Tourism operators question ports water quality monitoring
Global Warming will let Arctic tourism push the boat out
Snowfields a generation away from climate meltdown, report warns
Environment is our economy: Tourism wakes up to reef in peril
| biophysical_factors_-_climatic_regions.doc |
