The Use of Collaborative Practices for Climate Change Adaptation in the Tourism Sector until 2040—A Case Study in the Porto Metropolitan Area (Portugal)

Abstract

When climate change became a global concern in the 1980s, mitigation was considered the best strategy to address all challenges. For a long time, it was thought possible to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which, according to many experts, brought on an unfit adaptation. There are international agreements designed to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but the policy measures taken so far are insufficient to achieve this goal. In addition, the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the relevance of placing this issue at the core of international policies and the need for bottom-up measures and options. The purpose of this paper is to explore how collaborative planning can contribute to adapting the urban tourism sector to climate change in the Porto Metropolitan Area (PMA), located in the northern region of mainland Portugal. In this investigation, we used mixed methods based on the following: (1) the discussion of urban tourism’s adaptation planning to climate change with undergraduate students; (2) the application of a modified Delphi questionnaire survey, to 47 international researchers and technicians in the first round and 35 international researchers and technicians in the second round, about the predictability of the adaptation measures; and (3) a theoretical-practical workshop aimed to discuss the main action intentions and ways of adaptation in the short and medium term. All empirical data were collected during the year of 2021. This research highlights the need for more detailed information, the weak interaction between stakeholders and the limitation of resources. Our research identifies the main impacts and local vulnerabilities and determines priorities for adaptation and implementation of actions, aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change and maintaining tourism attractiveness in urban areas. In addition, this investigation allowed the definition of a research agenda, which seeks to guide the area of tourism climatology regarding the new challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.