The influence of learning on a tourism destination community’s responses to the impacts of climate change Thi Duyen Anh Pham Master of Social Planning and Development Bachelor of Science A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2018 School of Business Abstract Climate change presents significant challenges for the sustainability of the tourism sector. Tourism destinations in developing countries have been identified as the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; however, little is known about the situation of climate change and the tourism sector in the developing world, despite the relative importance of tourism to the local economies. Building adaptive capacity is important to increase the capability of the local destination community stakeholders to manage the impacts of climate change on their business and on the broader destination. Considerable adaptation research has been conducted; however, adaptation discourses in the tourism sector are still predominantly focused on responding to the predicted impacts of future climate change rather than addressing the underlying factors that affect the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of tourism destinations and local community stakeholders. Recent research in social ecological systems has indicated that learning is an essential aspect of building adaptive capacity. In this context, social learning is emerging as an adaptation approach that addresses issues hindering adaptation, such as a lack of knowledge and awareness, and encourages a proactive response by human systems to climate change. Underpinned by the theories of climate change adaptation and social learning, this research seeks to understand the influence of learning on a destination community’s responses to the impacts of climate change. The aim of this research was supported by four interrelated research objectives: 1) to examine community knowledge of climate change, 2) to identify the sources of information utilised by the community to construct climate change knowledge and the spaces used for knowledge sharing and learning, 3) to assess how local destination community stakeholders have applied their existing knowledge to adapt to climate change, and 4) to identify and assess the factors influencing the capacity of local destination stakeholders to learn to adapt to climate change. This research employed a qualitative, constructivist methodology to investigate the research issue in the context of the city of Hoi An, a well-known tourism destination in Vietnam. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 54 participants who represented a broad range of local destination community stakeholders (i.e., local government authorities, tourism businesses, residents, community-based organisations) and expert stakeholders who have knowledge about the scope of this research. The thesis reveals the following key findings. The overall conclusion is that the responses of Hoi An community stakeholders to the impacts of climate change are strongly determined by their perceptions of the importance of climate change to their businesses and to the broader destination; their ability to ii acquire the necessary climate-related knowledge; and their ability to apply this acquired knowledge to decision making and actions to respond to the impacts of climate change. The study found that local community stakeholders are highly concerned about climate change and hold a basic knowledge of the impacts and implications of climate change on the destination and solutions for dealing with climate-change effects. Such knowledge is primarily developed from personal experiences with climatic events and traditional ecological knowledge about weather and environment, and partly learnt from the media and participation in environmental education workshops. To a certain extent, social learning regarding climate change is also evident through formal interactions among destination community stakeholders with external stakeholders such as development agencies, researchers and government at different levels (particularly environmental authorities) which are important for transferring and developing scientific knowledge. Results of this research indicate that knowledge has been used effectively in some respects to inform strategies to exploit the opportunities arising from changes and moderating the risks resulting from the negative impacts of climate change. Despite this, many responses to climate change in this community are still reactive and short-term, rather than being long-term and anticipatory of future changes. The study indicates that a lack of knowledge for climate-change adaptation, especially tourism-specific climate-change knowledge; the limitations in climate-change communication and learning facilitation; and constraints relating to government empowerment and finance have overwhelmed the capacity of destination community stakeholders to learn and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This research makes several key contributions to the tourism and climate-change research literature. It has shown how learning could be used as an approach to enhance adaptive capacity and adaptation to climate change by local tourism stakeholders. It has shown clear evidence that climate change is important enough for vulnerable tourism destinations and communities to require immediate action. It also contributes to bridging the knowledge gaps about climate change and tourism in developing countries; this is of particular significance given the relative importance of the tourism sector to these local economies. This thesis also extends the applicability of the concept of social learning in the context of tourism destinations by demonstrating that social and political factors, such as the multi- level administrative and tourism governance systems in Vietnam, can influence learning and adaptation to climate change at the community level. iii Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, financial support and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my higher degree by research candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis and have sought permission from co-authors for any jointly authored works included in the thesis. iv Publications during candidature Conference abstracts and papers Pham, T. D. A. (2018). Knowledge management and climate change adaptation in tourism destinations: the case of Hoi An City, Vietnam. Paper presented at the 9th “Engaging with Vietnam: an interdisciplinary dialogue” Conference: Touring Vietnam: exploring “development”, “tourism” and “sustainability” in Vietnam from multidisciplinary and multi- directional perspectives, the University of Social Sciences and Humanity, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, December, December 28, 2017 – Jan 4, 2018. Pham, T. D. A.; Ruhanen, L.; Mair, J. (2017). Learning to adapt: Exploring the adaptive capacity of tourism dependent communities to climate change impacts through social learning. Paper presented at the CAUTHE 2017 Conference: Times for big ideas? Re-thinking the field for tourism tomorrow, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, February 7-10. Pham, T. D. A. (2016). Exploring the influence of learning on the adaptive capacity of tourism dependent communities for climate change: A conceptual framework. Paper presented at the CAUTHE 2016 Conference: The changing landscape of tourism and hospitality: the impacts of emerging markets and emerging destinations, Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, Sydney, Australia, February 4-7. Book chapters Pham, T. D. A. (2017). Institutional response to climate change: Hoi An, Vietnam. In Managing growth and sustainable tourism governance in Asia and the Pacific (pp. 140-143). Madrid: World Tourism Organisation and Griffith University. Publications included in this thesis No publications. Manuscripts included in this thesis None. v Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None. Research Involving Human or Animal Subjects The ethical clearance for this study was approved by the UQ Business