Estimation of the tourism climate in the Hunter Region,Australia, in the early twenty-first century |
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Authors: | Ivy Shiue Andreas Matzarakis |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Edward Ford Building, A27, NSW, 2006, Australia;(2) Meteorological Institute, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Werthmannstrasse 10, Freiburg, 79085, Germany |
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Abstract: | Existing tourism-related climate information and evaluation are typically based on mean monthly conditions of air temperature
and precipitation and do not include thermal perception and other climate parameters relevant for tourists. Here, we quantify
climate based on the climate facets relevant to tourism (thermal, physical, aesthetical), and apply the results to the Climate-Tourism-Information-Scheme
(CTIS). This paper presents bioclimatic and tourism climatological conditions in the Hunter Region—one of Australia’s most
popular tourist destinations. In the Hunter Region, generally, temperatures below 15°C occur from April through October, temperatures
less than 25°C are expected throughout the whole year, while humidity sits around 50%. As expected, large differences between
air temperature and physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) were clearly identified. The widest differences were seen
in summer time rather than in the winter period. In addition, cold stress was observed less than 10% of the time in winter
while around 40–60% of heat stress was observed in summer time. This correlates with the highest numbers of international
visitors, who usually seek a warmer weather, at the beginning of summer time (November and December) and also to the number
of domestic visitors, who tend to seek cooler places for recreation and leisure, in late summer (January–March). It was concluded
that thermal bioclimate assessment such as PET and CTIS can be applied in the Hunter region, and that local governments and
the tourism industry should take an integrated approach to providing more relevant weather and climate information for both
domestic and international tourists in the near future. |
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Keywords: | |
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