Thirty years of assessing the impacts of climate change on outdoor recreation and tourism in Canada

This paper reviews 30 peer-reviewed academic journals articles (1986-2016) that assess the impacts of climate change on outdoor recreation and tourism in Canada. The review follows a sector-based approach, covering the various activities that have been assessed within a Canadian context. In general, climate change is expected to present increased risks for cold-weather activities in Canada, while there may be increased opportunities for warm-weather activities. A series of knowledge gaps are identified and recommendations for future research in the field are made. Emphasis is placed on overcoming limitations associated with reliance on out-dated climate science, climate models and climate change scenarios; addressing the uneven geographic distribution of existing assessments and filling the gap regarding regions that are currently underrepresented; as well as exploring the weather sensitivity and potential climate change impacts for outdoor recreation and tourism activities that have not yet been assessed.