A Reassessment of Climate Change and the Skiing Industry in Southern Ontario (Canada): Exploring Technical Adaptive Capacity
16A.2 A REASSESSMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE SKIING INDUSTRY IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO (CANADA): EXPLORING TECHNICAL ADAPTIVE CAPACITY Daniel Scott 1 *, Geoff McBoyle 2, Brian Mills 1 1 - Adaptation and Impacts Research Group, Environment Canada, at the Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1 2 - Department of Geography, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1 1. INTRODUCTION region. This data was used to calibrate a ski season Weather and climate have a strong influence on the simulation model that included a snowmaking module tourism and recreation sector. In some regions, climate with climatic thresholds and operational decision rules is the resource on which the tourism industry is based on interviews with ski area managers. predicated and in others has a major influence on the physical resources that are the foundation of tourism A complete record of daily temperature (maximum, (e.g., health of coral reefs, water levels for boating, minimum and mean), precipitation (rain and snowfall) snow cover for skiing). Despite the growing significance and snow depth data for 1961 to 1996 (the last year the of the tourism industry to the global economy, rehabilitated snow data set was available) was obtained comparatively few investigations have assessed the from the Meteorological Service of Canada for the Orillia relationships between climate and tourism and climate station (44.37°N-79.25°W, 220 masl). recreation (Smith 1993, Perry 1997, de Freitas 2001). As a consequence, the vulnerability of individual Monthly climate change scenarios from six recreation industries and tourism regions to climate modelling centres (using between four and six General variability and global climate change has not been Circulation Model [GCM] grid boxes depending on the adequately assessed.
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