Worldwide, the inexorable growth of the tourism sector with its high demand for land and other resources has reignited the debate about the environmental impact of tourism.

In this debate, the subject of climate change stands front and center. Given the huge number of natural attractions in Lebanon on the one hand and the fact that its tourism development is only beginning anew on the other hand, offers a rare opportunity to sufficiently consider, at least in theory, the interrelations of climate change and tourism from the onset. Hence, it should be possible to initiate a path of sustainable development in which the protection of natural resources will constitute the basis for the prosperity of the tourism sector in the long-term.

The crucial question, therefore, is if and to what extent the necessary awareness, political will and the according strategies for such an enterprise are present in Lebanon?

Download the article (PDF; 728KB)

 

Manja Riebe holds a diploma (FH) in Applied Leisure Studies. She specialized in the fields of climate change and tourism during her studies. In her thesis, she analyzed the existing measures of adaptation and mitigation to address climate change in the leisure and tourism sector, thereby examining their effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability. She has been living in Beirut since early 2010 and her work is currently focused on this region.