Lessons from COVID-19 can prepare global tourism for the economic transformation needed to combat climate change

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cessation of almost all international travel in the first half of 2020. A return to pre-pandemic growth patterns will take time and depend on the depth and extent of the recession sparked by COVID-19. The recovery phase will overlap with global efforts to deal with the evolving climate crisis. For the tourism industry to thrive in a future world it must look beyond the temptation of adopting strategies based on a return to the pre-COVID-19 normal of the past and instead seek to understand how it should respond to the emerging transformation of the global economy to carbon neutrality. Many of the lessons that emerged from the pandemic can be applied to strategies to deal with climate change. Of most interest is the success of strategies such as “flattening the curve”. Application of similar strategies plus adoption of the circular economy model to wind back Green House Gas emissions will help avert the global environmental disaster that will occur if global temperatures continue to increase. These strategies point to what a future carbon-neutral economic production system might look like, the path to which could offer the tourism industry numerous opportunities to transform from the current model that favours a high resource consumption model to one that is environmentally friendly and resource neutral.     

开放参观对莫高窟洞窟微环境的影响

洞窟微环境相对湿度是影响壁画保存的关键因素,为了解开放参观对莫高窟洞窟相对湿度的影响,本研究选择莫高窟南区四个相似洞窟进行长达10年(2004~2013年)的定期监测,对比分析了开放洞窟和关闭洞窟其相对湿度的变化情况。结果表明:开放洞窟相对湿度在开放时段波动频率与游客参观频次正相关,发生降雨时开放洞窟相对湿度迅速上升,关闭洞窟可有效阻隔窟外相对湿度波动的影响。开放洞窟在参观量大的旅游旺季,其相对湿度月极大值、日较差月均值以及日极大值超过60%的频次均明显高于关闭洞窟。将开放洞窟关闭,关闭洞窟开放后,其相对湿度呈相反规律变化。开放参观会导致洞窟相对湿度水平显著升高,日波动幅度明显增大,从而增加壁画劣化风险。这些结论可为洞窟的预防性管理和风险评估提供科学依据。