Comparison of Climate Preferences for Domestic and International Beach Holidays: A Case Study of Canadian Travelers

Abstract

Abstract:Coastal tourism is the largest segment of global leisure tourism and it is firmly linked to the destination's natural resources-with climatic resources chief among them. Through observations and survey responses of beach users, studies have evaluated climatic resources for coastal tourism by quantifying optimal and unacceptable conditions. However, these studies have not taken into consideration that different forms of holidays (e.g., daytrips, short trips, main annual holiday, "once-in-a-lifetime" trip) may have varying degrees of resilience to climatic conditions. This is the first study to explore whether ideal and unacceptable climatic conditions vary between domestic and international tourists. Using an in situ survey, Canadian beach users traveling domestically (n = 359) and internationally (n = 120) were examined. Key findings include statistically significant differences (p ď 0.05) between the two sample groups for every climate variable, with the international sample more resilient to a broader range of weather conditions, including a greater acceptance for warm temperatures, longer rainfall durations, higher wind speeds, and greater cloud cover. This study adds further insight into the complexities of evaluating climate for tourism, with implications for the demand response of tourists to climate change.

Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come Again Another Day. Weather Preferences of Summer Tourists in Mountain Environments

“…These studies show that tourists' weather preferences differ between tourism environments, such as beach, urban and mountain tourism. Further differences were identified between nationalities [36,38]; tourists coming from temperate and tropical climate regimes [39]; tourists travelling domestically and internationally [40]; and tourism segments: elderly people seem to be more sensitive to heat, but also less sensitive to cold than younger tourists [34,35,39]. Nevertheless, Rutty and Scott [39] conclude that "interaction between climate preferences and age or other socio-demographics (e.g., travelling with children) remains insufficiently understood" (p. 266).…”

An Inter-Comparison of the Holiday Climate Index (HCI:Beach) and the Tourism Climate Index (TCI) to Explain Canadian Tourism Arrivals to the Caribbean

“…Although Caribbean islands offer a variety of natural and cultural tourism attractions, the 3S tourism product has dominated for decades [3,5]. The Caribbean has therefore been a focus of several tourist climate preference studies [24,31,[46][47][48] and was selected for the first application of the HCI:Beach because of its continuing importance as a global beach destination.…”

Influence of Weather on the Behaviour of Tourists in a Beach Destination

“…In the last ten years, research has increasingly aimed at identifying the ideal or preferred weather conditions for different tourist activities, such as visiting the zoo [21][22][23]; travelling to ski and mountain environments [24][25][26]; camping [12,27]; visiting parks [28]; and tourism in urban destinations [29]. The relationship between climate and tourism is particularly close in the case of beach tourism, where climate has repeatedly been identified as a critical pull factor [30][31][32].…”