The first conference on Thursday, 6 June will be held in the Municipal Auditorium of Cullera. The opening act at 9:30am will count with the speech of the Vice-Principal for Culture and Society of the Universitat de València Ester Alba, and Major Jordi Mayor. The symposium has been organised in collaboration with the Inter-university Institute for Local Development, the Department of Geography of the Universitat de València and the Tourism Geography Group of the Spanish Geography Association (AGE).

The first keynote speech will be entitled ‘Tourism and climate change’, and will be given by Debbie Hopkins from the University of Oxford. This will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Mar Riera from the Universitat de València, and with speakers Fernando Vera from the University of Alacant, Ana Camarasa from the Universitat de València and Raquel Santos from Fi Grup.

Check the full programme here.

According to the organisation, the tourism industry must adapt and respond to current environmental and global challenges, exploring adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate change. Tourism destinations must also effectively recover from challenges such as crises, pandemics, climate change and other global factors. For the event’s sponsors, it is essential to ‘balance tourism growth with environmental protection and the well-being of local communities.’

The current tourism development model and the climate emergency have emerged as two of the most important challenges for the tourism industry. According to the sponsors, ‘Climate change is now an undeniable global threat. This phenomenon is not only a threat, but has now become a serious problem, a reality confirmed by the declaration of more than 11,000 scientists worldwide. Climate change is a major environmental problem with negative social and economic impacts. For the tourism industry, it poses significant threats, including an increased risk of species extinction, diminishing freshwater resources, growing health and safety concerns, as well as an increase in wildfire-related accidents, extreme heat events and the spread of disease. Adverse weather conditions may even discourage travellers from choosing attractive tourist destinations.’

In this scenario, the XIX International Colloquium on Tourism Geography is proposed as a space open to reflection and contributions of the latest research, approaches, methodologies, advances and innovations with the aim of improving the possibilities of adaptation of tourist destinations to face the challenges posed by the new dynamics of global change and climate crisis.