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ABSTRACTSupplier characteristics influence destination resilience to climate change, but there is limited research applying social resilience theories to this group. Using socio-ecological and psychology resilience theories, we examined how a group of rural, nature-based tourism suppliers enhanced their resilience to climate change. We conducted 17 interviews in the Bay of Machias, Maine, USA to examine how characteristics of tourism suppliers influenced their resilience to climate change. Despite facing socio-economic challenges, suppliers were taking action to adapt to their most pressing climate change threat, flooding, by leveraging their knowledge, skill sets, and social ties. This study suggests that leveraging resources, collaboration, and developing connections to places through livelihoods may enhance the resilience of rural tourism suppliers. We suggest that the framework used in this study has broader applicability to understanding how suppliers can build destination resilience to climate change; however, the destination life cycle phase must be incorporated into resilience considerations.

We conducted a spatially explicit vulnerability assessment of the forest industry in Maine, USA, to climate change in an effort to (1) advance a spatial framework for assessing forest industry vulnerability and (2) increase our understanding of Maine’s specific vulnerabilities to climate change in order to guide decision-making. We applied a bottom-up indicator approach to evaluate exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to climate change using both biophysical and social indicators, largely driven by participatory processes. Our approach enabled us to synthesize and aggregate indicators of regional importance to evaluate vulnerability, allowing us to simultaneously examine combinations of potential changes. We found that each Maine county had its own unique combination of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity indicators, with overall vulnerability highest in the rural northern and western parts of the state, where forest industry activities are most prevalent. However, results also indicate that although increased stress from climate-related changes can negatively affect Maine’s forest via high exposure, reduced sensitivities and increased adaptive capacity have the potential to largely decrease overall vulnerability in many parts of the state.

Climate change poses many risks for nature-based recreation and tourism, especially in protected areas and parks. This paper discusses visitor risk perceptions of climate change and its impacts, and their potential consequences for nature-based tourism destinations such as national parks. An online survey was used to assess visitor risk perception on the likelihood of climate change impacts to affect Mount Desert Island (MDI)-Acadia National Park in the next 10 years, and potential risks those impacts could pose to visitors. Environmental impacts such as extreme weather and sea level rise were perceived by respondents as the most likely effects of climate change to MDI in the next 10 years. Conversely, respondents’ risk perceptions of climate change impacts as threats to visitors showed an increased importance of other environmental impacts such as increased presence of mosquitoes and ticks; with extreme events as the key risk to visitors. However, perceptions that pose potential personal risk to visitors gained in significance when considering their influence on travel behavior, including impacts such as disease outbreak and water scarcity. Factor analyses with varimax rotation identified four climate change impact factors associated with perceived vulnerability, perceptions of risk, and influence on future travel to MDI; the four factors generated were: weather patterns, impacts on wildlife, access and health, and physiological and safety needs. Results from cluster analysis yielded three segments: Skeptics, Believers, and Cautious. Segments were significantly different in how they perceived the vulnerability of the area to the effects of climate change, perceived risks, and changes that may influence travel behavior.

This study explores the range of perceptions about the impacts of climate change on tourism in one protected area, Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine, US. Summer visitation to this park depends strongly on favorable weather conditions. An intercept survey was used to collect data on visitor perceptions about the role of weather and possible climate change on tourism in general, and their destination selection specifically. A total of 506 visitors participated in the study.

Nature-based tourism is one of the most economically important industries in the state of Maine, USA. Climate change impacts are projected to affect important tourism assets in Maine, which could result in behavioral shifts related to destination selection, seasonal visitation, and activity participation. Risk perceptions can be important predictors in visitor travel decisions. Recent tourism studies have focused on the effects of climate impacts on risk perceptions, but few have examined the social-psychological drivers of climate change risk perceptions. Drawing on social-psychological theories, we address this gap by understanding visitor climate change risk perceptions in Maine. We surveyed visitors to Acadia National Park in the summer of 2018 to assess the impact of socio-demographics, cognition, experience, and socio-cultural factors on visitor climate change risk perceptions. We used two-stage cluster probability sampling and intercepted 1317 visitors on site; 480 participants completed the online follow-up survey. Using hierarchical regression, we explained 45.5% of the variance in visitors’ climate change risk perceptions at a nature-based tourism destination. Visitors identifying as female, having higher levels of belief in climate change, more first-hand experience with climate impacts, and a higher altruistic values orientation amplified risk perceptions. Understanding determinants of climate change risk perceptions within an outdoor recreation setting has implications for offering high quality visitor experiences while maintaining the integrity of the natural resource base upon which visitation relies.

•Forestry groups in Maine, USA have high climate change risk perceptions.•Different message frames must be applied to increase climate change adaptation.•Forest professionals may be motivated to adapt by discussing social norms.•Appealing to environmental values may motivate land owners to adapt.•Framing adaptation as a forest health concern may increase adaptation.