Tourism and Climate Change in Peru: Adopting a Framework for Action

It is widely acknowledged that climate change is one of the defining challenges of the twenty-first century and is a considerable threat to both natural and human systems in Latin America. With greenhouse gas emissions moving beyond the realm of dangerous, having risen dramatically since pre-industrial times, developing strategies for adapting to and moderating those impacts of climate change has become of vital importance for cities in Latin America. The aim of this chapter is to enhance our understanding of how governments from countries most at risk are responding to the challenges climate change poses to cities and communities highly dependent on the tourism sector. The chapter examines Peru’s domestic and foreign climate change policy priorities and its commitment to addressing the environmental and social impacts of climate change on
tourism. It outlines and explores the lack of strategic planning by the Peruvian
government in relation to climate change and the tourism sector within the broader political, socio-economic and environmental context. Climate change adaptation research into the tourism sector remains far less developed than in other economic sectors. Tourism is currently considered among the economic sectors least prepared for the risks and opportunities posed by climate change despite it being highly dependent on meteorology and climatology and inherently linked to the preservation and enhancement of environmental resources. The heavy rains and flooding which affected the city of Cusco and the country’s main tourist attraction, Machu Picchu in 2010 clearly demonstrated how vulnerable the tourism industry is to climate change. The Peruvian government has responded by taking the ‘business-as-usual’ approach and launching a campaign to promote travel to the regions affected by heavy rains and flooding primarily located in the centre of the country. While Peru has placed itself at the centre of climate change discussions by hosting COP20 at the end of 2014 and has taken steps towards mitigating and adapting against the threat climate change in other sectors such as forestry and agriculture, the tourism sector has been left lagging behind. A core challenge faced by cities dependent on tourism is the need to reconcile economic growth with reduction in risk and vulnerability to climate change. The centralised nature of Peru’s government facilitates national planning but the strength of its institutions at the national level has resulted in weak local adaptation capacity as the tourism sector awaits direction and budgetary resources from the central government. This chapter will contribute to the understanding of current policy frameworks and advance the state of knowledge about the relationship between tourism and climate change in Peru. Evidence-based research into tourism and climate change is critical to developing effective adaptation strategies for Latin American cities and to joining the agendas of tourism and city level climate change adaptation.