Intervention Area: Resilient Coastal Communities and Businesses

Background and rationale 

For coastal regions and communities around Europe, tourism is a highly important economic activity that provides substantial employment. Coastal and maritime tourism represents about half of all tourism global and is the largest sector of the EU Blue Economy. In 2019 (the last year prior to covid for which there is data) coastal tourism employed 2.8m people in the EU, generating a GVA of €81.5bn (EU Blue Economy Report, 2023). The sector is highly dependent on the quality of marine and coastal environments but can also impact directly on those environments. Many of its activities also depend on coastal infrastructures, including for example small harbours and marinas, that provide an interface between the land and the sea but are in themselves exposed to risks from climate change and extreme weather impacts. 

There are significant challenges and opportunities for coastal and marine tourism to achieve a transition from its currently unsustainable model and to manage exposure to environmental, economic and social risks. The aim of this IA is to support interdisciplinary research across natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and technology, as well as innovation to enable a just and efficient transition to low-impact, regenerative and sustainable tourism and coastal business, that increases also the resilience of the communities in which these businesses are embedded.

Key thematic areas 

Low-impact, regenerative coastal tourism    

An increasing global population and middle class with access to disposable income, has led to a rise in tourism and the numbers of people travelling for recreational purposes. The covid pandemic, however, caused a major disruption to international tourism and impacted tourism business globally, including 75 million job losses and a tourism-induced GDP reduction of more than €2 trillion. As the sector recovers from the impacts of the pandemic, there are substantial opportunities for change and adaptation towards a more sustainable business model. Research in this area is needed to guide policy and planning to support a just and efficient transition towards low-impact, regenerative tourism.  

• Identify opportunities for viable tourism products/services that help to reduce negative environmental impact, manage and restore local environments, and revitalise local and traditional culture and heritage. 
• Analysis of the energy usage and needs across marine and coastal tourism and strategies for reducing sectoral energy use and green-house gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy including electrification of recreational vessels and ground transportation. 
• Shifting the attitudes and behaviours of tourists to enable a transition to a lower impact, regenerative business models, reducing pollution, water and energy usage. 
• Understand willingness to pay for environmental measures to inform financial models and transition strategies to low-impact tourism. 
• Identify opportunities for citizen science as a tool to deliver co-benefits in terms of ocean literacy, environmental protection/restoration, and an activity that can form part of a viable business product. 
• Development of innovative digital products and services that inform decision-making and creation of new products for tourism operators.

Resilient coastal businesses

Small scale coastal businesses operate in a continually evolving socio-economic context where seasonality, limited access to labour and tight profit margins are commonplace. These businesses are also highly dependent on the quality of the marine and coastal environment and are in the front line of climate and weather impacts. Multiple use of the same area could also represent a conflict. An improved understanding of these pressures can inform more effective policies, planning and product development, as well as strategies to foster resilience in coastal communities and businesses and support diversification of coastal and marine-based enterprises.

Activities should address the following aspects: 

• Research to understand risks posed to coastal business and communities by climate change impacts (ocean warming, sea-level rise, biodiversity loss, etc.) and extreme weather events.
• Research to understand the risks posted to coastal business by political and social changes  
• Strategies for strengthening resilience and preparedness of coastal businesses against climatic, geological and anthropogenic hazards and social and economic risk factors.
• Social innovation to enable diversification of coastal and marine-based enterprises. Social innovation is currently hardly funded by European or National funds and research on mecahnisms to sustain such business is needed .
• Assess the impacts of diverse coastal activities (including small ports and marinas), on marine and coastal environments and co-dependencies between tourism and coastal and marine ecosystem health.
• Research to better understand the relationships and interdependencies between marine and coastal tourism and the communities in which they operate, including challenges linked to social/community unrest generated by mass tourism.
• Improved understanding of financing instruments and incentves for innnovation that support job creation in coastal communities.
• Improve understanding of the social and cultural costs and benefits of coastal and marine tourism and the cultural context for fostering a sustainable and just transition to low-impact, regenerative tourism. 

Resilient coastal infrastructures and nature-based solutions

Coastal tourism relies in large part on built infrastructures such as small harbours, piers and marinas, that enable access for operators and tourists to the marine environment. These infrastructures are by nature of their location, highly exposed to the impacts of climate change (e.g. sea-level rise), geological hazards, coastal erosion and extreme weather events. Understanding the risk to existing infrastructures and advancing innovative approaches to design and adaptation of coastal structures is a key component underpinning sectoral resilience. A transition towards Nature-based Solutions (NbS) (see definition see 2020-020-En.pdf) is an important opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint of activities linked to tourism. NbS can promote the development of sustainable blue tourism in coastal areas, including strategies to combat coastal erosion, control the spread of harmful alien species, and potentially ensure the quality of bathing waters.

• Analysis of risks posed to coastal infrastructures by climate change and extreme weather events and strategies to protect /re-design built structures and mitigate against risks that potential damages to such structures may poses to safety and security of coastal communities and businesses. 
• Advance opportunities to embed technologies in coastal infrastructures that can monitor environmental conditions, deliver early warning of risks/hazards and support long-term data on coastal conditions and environmental change. 
• Effective Investment in and conservation of natural assets that benefit both costal tourism and ecosystem services / Nature-based Solutions (e.g. through carbon storage, flood protection).  e.g. mangroves, coral reefs. 
• Enabling diversification by working with existing and emerging maritime sectors to provide tourism opportunities linked to offshore energy, aquaculture operations, fisheries and ports. 
• Investigate, promote and showcase the coexistence of coastal and maritime tourism and marine protected areas. 
• In certain areas, infrastructures to support tourism or other economic activities may be seasonal and other permanent. Research in the diversity of the demand per region of the necessary infrastructures (stable or mobile ones) and feedback to policy makers in approaching coastal development for local economic activities. 
• Research on the impact (positive or negative) of subsidies/allowance on different economic activities is key for the long term sustainability of such activities 
• Research on comparative legal frameworks across different European regions to support coastal activities concerning a the most effiecient and sustainable way.

Implementation, enablers, and synergies

Interdisciplinary approaches including technology, data, digitalisation, social science and humanities can provide solutions to enable coastal and marine tourism, not only to transition to a more sustainable, regenerative business model, but to create new tourism offerings and opportunities. In a European context, marine environmental data portals such as EMODNet provide users with access to a major source of information that can be used to improve decision-making and product development. Data and technological innovation are also critical enablers to inform the design and maintenance of coastal infrastructures.  

However, technology will need to be paired with a better and comparative understanding of socio and cultural factors to frame appropriately the potentials of different regions both in terms of different economic activities as well as infrastructures, labour markets and legal and financial support for innovation. The impact of major societal changes like migration flows and legal framework, as well as political tensions have a major role on the capacity to look at the coastal resources and maximise their development with small impact on the environment. Such research needs to be integrated into the overall research strategy.  

Research on mapping accurately specific public policies around water provisions, desalinisation and marine based infrastructures management would also be crucial to set the path for future interventions. 

Outcomes and impacts

• Knowledge and guidance for public authorities and development agencies (national, local), to inform policy and planning to enable a just and efficient transition for coastal and marine tourism to a sustainable and regenerative business model. 
• Greater understanding for key stakeholders (coastal businesses, community leaders, local authorities, etc.) of the risks posed by climate change impacts, extreme weather and geological hazards. 
• Greater understanding of the social and cultural context underpinning coastal tourism and strategies to ensure that transition to a new sustainable business model safeguard the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of local communities. In particular, the impact of marine archaeology research for local infrastructures and developing scientific hubs for advanced research.  
• Strategies to foster greater resilience for coastal business and communities in the face of climate change, extreme weather events, geological hazards, and social and economic impacts to inform all stakeholders from individual businesses to national policy and planning authorities (including social phenomena on local business, such as migration flows on local labour markets or refugee management on health care demand). 
• Measurable reduction in the negative environmental impacts of coastal and marine tourism in Europe, linked to reduced pollution, GHG emissions and energy usage, water usage, and impact on local marine and coastal environments 
• Improved strategies and policies for delivering positive change in the behaviours and attitudes of tourists towards reducing deleterious environmental, social and cultural impacts arising from their own touristic activities and supporting an interest/willingness to participate in regenerative activities such as nature restoration and citizen science.  
• Greater deployment of innovative technologies, and use of data and digital products to inform low-impact tourism activities and products.