Climate resources at United States National Parks: a tourism climate index approach

Nature-based tourism is beholden to weather, extreme weather, and climate change (i.e. climate resources), though researchers have yet to longitudinally explore the influence of climate resources on United States National Parks for visitation and camping. Accordingly, this study operationalises climate resources at 11 southern United States National Parks using five tourism climate indices including the Tourism Climate Index, Holiday Climate Index (urban and beach), Optimised Index, and Camping Climate Index. Results demonstrate that the Camping Climate Index is more predictive of visitation, recreational vehicle camping, and tent camping compared to other indices, though not for all locations or tourism activities. Results also indicate that between 1981 and 2019 climate resources improved at mid-latitude parks though either declined or moderately improved for parks in arid and tropical locations. Discussion, limitations, and future research directions are provided.

Automated summary

Nature-based tourism is impacted by weather, extreme weather, and climate change. This study examines the influence of climate resources on visitation and camping at southern United States National Parks. The Camping Climate Index is found to be a more accurate predictor for visitation, recreational vehicle camping, and tent camping, although its effectiveness varies across different locations and tourism activities. The study also reveals that climate resources improved at mid-latitude parks between 1981 and 2019, while parks in arid and tropical locations experienced either decline or moderate improvement.