Implications Of Global Warming For Tourism In Canada Research Paper

Implications Of Global Warming For Tourism In Canada - Research Paper Example The industry has now become of the major income earner and source of employment in these countries. According to Edgell (1993), tourism stimulates the growth of basic infrastructure, enhances the growth of domestic industries and transfer of information and technology, and attracts foreign investment. One of the countries that have benefitted a lot from tourism is Canada. Canada is the second largest country globally and one of the prosperous nations on the planet earth. It is a member of the Group of Eight (G8) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Its economy is rated as the 9th largest economy globally (CNN News). The key industries in the economy of Canada are manufacturing, service sector, energy and agriculture. Apart from these, tourism also plays a big role in the economy of Canada. In Canada, tourism accounts for about 2% of its overall gross domestic product (GDP), with a GDP value that equals to that of forestry, hunting, agriculture and fi shing combined. In 2007, tourism contributions to Canada reached $28.6 billion, a 5.9% increase turnover from 2006. During the same year, 2007, it generated a total of $21.2 billion in government revenues and over 653,400 jobs for the citizens. In 2008, these increased to $74 billion in revenues and over 66, 000 jobs (Canadian Tourism Commission, 2008). ... Generally, the nation’s tourist attractions include glacial features, parks, waterfalls, historic sites, culture, mountains, ski resorts, museums, art galleries, and hiking and camping destinations. There are also a lot of rivers and lakes for outdoor recreation, boating, fishing and hunting, Crescent Street located in Montreal and suspension bridge located above the Capilano River, and Valley of the Ten Peaks and the Moraine Lake located in Alberta province. The country is bordered by Atlantic Ocean to the east, Pacific Ocean to the west and Arctic Ocean to the north and therefore beaches and other coastal features form an important tourist attraction feature especially during the summers. The above discussion and explanations are a proof that tourism is an important part in the sustenance of the economy of Canada. This means that anything threatening the sustainability of this sector directly threatens the Canadian economy. One of the things that is currently threatening the sustenance of this sector is global warming. This phenomenon has brought about some environmental changes that have significant implications for Tourism in Canada. In order to understand this deeply, it is important to have an overview of what global warming is. Global warming In simple terms, global warming can be defined as the rise in the average global temperatures. This increase in temperature is felt both in the earth’s atmosphere and the oceans/seas. According to Solomon et al (2008), the occurrence of global warming is influenced by different factors that are collectively known as external forcing. These are processes that are external to the earth’s climate system and the earth’s climate