For example, I am taking two places. i) Kanyakumari – a famous coastal pilgrimage and tourist centre and ii) Kodaikanal – Hill Station in Tamilnadu.

  1. i) Kanyakumari – It is already a hot place usually but did not fail to attract tourists from abroad and all parts of India due to its long heritage, beautiful beaches, monuments and the importance given by pilgrims. But the number of international tourists is drastically reducing over few years due to various factors including Climate Change, Pollution, unplanned and unauthorized constructions, unhygienic food stalls and unresponsive local authorities.
  2. ii) Kodaikanal – A pleasant hill station with ever green Shola (Sholas are the local name for patches of stunted temperate mountain forest found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher mountain regions of South India) forests is now a victim of deforestation, increased temperature and thus reduced number of tourists. Please see a news clipping from a leading Tamil News Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XJgAhf-Hyw

Climate Change is one of the major causes for drastic reduction in number of tourists, especially the international tourists from temperate countries who are unable to bear the hot condition in the scenic beach town and the hill station in Tamilnadu. The causes of climate change is well known and the factors being contributed by this small tourist town are the following: Emission of Greenhouse Gases, Emission of untreated air pollutants by hotels, restaurants and alike, irrational use of Polyethylene bags despite of the namesake ban etc.

Although the tourists cannot directly contribute in mitigating the effects of the Climate Change, as a part of the earth, every human should responsibly act to protect ourselves from the perilous effects of Climate Change. Sea water entering into coastal villages is not an occasional event in this locality, but a frequent one. According to UNWTO, Tourism contributes 5% to the Climate Change. The transport sector including road, rail and air contributes for 75% of all emissions. Hence tourism plays a crucial role in Climate Change and tourism itself being affected by the effects of Climate Change.

Lowering energy consumption, using alternative energy like Solar and Wind energy, decreasing air travel frequency, individuals trying to limit their contribution to global warming may help in mitigating the effects of Global Warming.