Perceptions of climate change in a tourism governance context

• This study relates to focus groups considering implications of climate change.
• The study analyses data using social networks and thematic analysis.
• Climate change issues are not a main driver of business cooperation and policies.
• Tourism actors prioritize cooperation on a local governance scale.
• Guidance by central actors is sought for with respect to climate related action.

Climate change is projected to be a major change factor for many tourism-dependent communities around the world. While this fact is broadly acknowledged in the academic community, there is still lacking evidence of how local tourism actors in different geographical settings perceive climate change, and how climate change impacts are projected to affect the respective tourism governance systems in the future. Based on empirical evidence from a mountain-tourism community in the Alps, the perceived vulnerabilities are laid open in a participatory focus group research approach, and future development paths as well as their effect upon local destination governance are discussed. Special attention is given to existing and future cooperation patterns, with the overarching goal to understand how perceptions of climate change influence future adaptation paths, and what role cooperation plays in implementing climate change adaptation measures on a local and regional level.