Ep 147: Tourism & Climate Change in Asia, with Alexander Trupp, Sunway University

“We wanted to create a status quo assessment of tourism and climate change in Asia, where research has been limited.” This week’s show tackles a white-hot issue for the travel industry: how to address carbon emissions and global heating.

The impacts of climate change are all around us in South East Asia, with a recent report citing Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam as particularly vulnerable to climate risks.

This week, Gary chats with Alexander Trupp, Associate Dean of Research & Postgraduate Studies at the School of Hospitality & Service Management, Sunway University in Malaysia. Alex is co-author of a new paper, called Tourism Under Climate Crisis in Asia: Impacts and Implications, published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

Alex sets out the facts and stats that show how urgent is the climate crisis across Asia, and discusses specific vulnerabilities for travel and tourism in each sub-region.

He also addresses the collective efforts required to bring change, and initiatives being put in place by the tourism industry to transition toward more sustainable travel.

Resources

Tourism under climate crisis in Asia: impacts and implications - Research paper here