Climate change awareness and adaptation in nature-based winter tourism

This thesis contributes to the knowledge of the relationship between tourism and climate change by examining climate change awareness and perceptions and the adaptation processes of the nature-based winter tourism industry. Finland, a country where tourism relies heavily on natural resources, and where snow-based winter tourism consists of a variety of activities, forms an interesting context for the study. The thesis assesses the factors affecting the development of climate change perceptions and knowledge among nature-based tourism stakeholders and the adaptation processes and adaptive capacity of the industry from the perspectives of supply and demand. The study consists of a continuum of case studies that shed light on the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of the winter tourism sector in Finland. The research process has included several stages and both qualitative and quantitative data have been used to examine the multifaceted research questions.