FOI’s research project Climatools has been ongoing since 2006 and one of the subprojects is about tourism and outdoor recreation from a climate perspective.
“In many places in Sweden tourism has developed into an important source of income that generates jobs as well as government tax income.

Climate changes can have positive as well as negative consequences for companies in the tourist trade,” says Karin Mossberg Sonnek, manager of the tourism and outdoor recreation project.
She is referring to changes such as hotter summers, more precipitation and warmer winters with little or no snow at all. Österlen is one of the areas that will be affected most by climate changes.

“We have developed a number of socioeconomic scenarios for 2030 for tourism in Österlen. These scenarios were presented, together with a climate scenario, for companies in the tourist trade in Simrishamn. Then we had discussions about how companies can plan strategically for the future based upon an expected climate change,” Karin Mossberg Sonnek continues.

The primary purpose of the Österlen study has been to improve understanding of the usefulness of a scenario tool.  The idea is that it will facilitate decisions that have to do with adjustments to the climate.

The report contains conclusions on the supplements that are required in order for the tools to be a definite support for tourism companies. The scenario tool is one of several tools that are being developed within the Climatools project. It will continue to be tested by municipal and regional decision-makers as well as a number of stakeholders who need to make decisions concerning adjustment to climate change.