Tourism is a sector of the economy that is very sensitive to weather and climate. How can this sector react to climate change, overcome setbacks and create successes? It is to questions such as these that CAST will address itself. The abbreviation stands for “climate trends and sustainable development of tourism in coastal and low mountain range regions”, a research joint venture by the Universities of Lueneburg and Freiburg under the umbrella of the Institute of Environmental Communication (INFU).
In two model regions of Germany, there is a need to adapt tourism to the changing climate conditions. Climate projections show that the conditions for winter sports will get worse in the model region of high Black Forest. The model region of the North Sea coast is facing rising sea levels. Furthermore, an increase in extreme weather is expected for the whole of Germany. The main goal of CAST is to foster innovation and learning abilities in the tourist industries in both model regions to the end that new products and infrastructure innovations can emerge in the context of sustainable development. To make the outcomes of this project available to other tourist regions in Germany, a roadmap for the advancement of expertise in the field of tourism and climate change are developed.
CAST is a transdisciplinary research network, in which representatives of the tourist industry and tourism politics work together jointly with researchers.