Tourism and Climate Change

Tourism and Climate Change, offered by Wageningen University & Research through edX, is an online course designed to examine the inextricable relationship between tourism and climate change. The course explores how tourism both contributes to climate change through emissions and resource use and is increasingly affected by climate-related impacts such as storms, sea level rise, drought, and ecosystem loss. It is particularly relevant for learners who want to understand how tourism destinations and tourism systems can respond more effectively to mitigation and adaptation challenges.

Core Content

The curriculum focuses on the key climate challenges facing tourism and the strategies needed to address them. Wageningen explains that learners engage with case studies related to both climate adaptation and mitigation and build a stronger understanding of how tourism can transition toward lower-carbon and more resilient futures. The course also examines the tourism sector’s contribution to emissions, the vulnerability of destinations, and the broader sustainability transition needed across tourism systems and practices.

Key Skills

Participants will develop the ability to understand the relationship between tourism and climate change, assess climate-related risks and pressures affecting tourism destinations, and interpret adaptation and mitigation strategies in a tourism context. The course also helps learners build a clearer understanding of tourism’s carbon footprint and supports more informed thinking about how sustainable tourism responses can be applied within their own organisational or professional setting.

Target Learners

This course is designed for professionals working in tourism, tourism-related business owners, and travellers interested in the future of tourism in a changing climate. It is particularly relevant for learners who want to understand how climate change is affecting tourism destinations and how the industry can move toward more sustainable and resilient models. As part of Wageningen’s broader tourism sustainability learning offering, it is suitable for both professional and general learners interested in tourism transition.

Learning Format

Hosted on edX, the course is delivered in a flexible online format as part of Wageningen University & Research’s Professional Certificate Programme Tourism in Transition: Exploring a Sustainable Future. The learning experience uses climate-related tourism case studies, debate, and scenario-based reflection to help learners build practical understanding step by step while progressing at their own pace. Wageningen also presents the wider programme as requiring about six to eight hours per week per course, with an average length of five to six weeks per MOOC.

Additional Benefits

The course offers practical value for learners who want to understand tourism not only as a climate-vulnerable sector but also as a major contributor to environmental change. Its focus on both mitigation and adaptation makes it especially useful for those seeking a more action-oriented perspective on sustainable tourism. As part of Wageningen’s broader Tourism in Transition certificate pathway, it also provides progression value for learners who want to continue into deeper tourism and sustainability study.

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