Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events

Even though it is acknowledged that anthropogenic climate change affects events and that the industry must adapt to the inevitable changes in climatic circumstances, there is still relatively little scientific research on climate change and adaptation and the implications for event design and organisation (Mair, 2012). In contrast to the tourism industry where the issues and challenges around climate change and adaptation have been discussed extensively for a while (e.g., Bae & Nam, 2020; Becken & Clapcott, 2011; Coles et al., 2013; Higgins-Desbiolles, 2022; Rey-Valette et al., 2015), the “events sector appears to lag … behind” (Mair, 2011, p. 248). The few studies that are currently available have mostly concentrated on outdoor events, particularly winter (sports) events (e.g., Scott et al., 2015; Scott et al., 2019), major and mega events (e.g., Burton, Fritz, Pröbstl-Haider, Ginner, & Formayer, 2021), or have been conceptual in nature (e.g., Mair, 2011).

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an institution of the United Nations, defines climate adaptation as “the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects in order to moderate harm or take advantage of beneficial opportunities” (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2022, p. 7). In contrast to climate protection or mitigation measures that seek to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases to prevent or at least slow down climate change (e.g., through energy saving or waste reduction), climate adaptation thus seeks to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and to adapt to the unavoidable consequences (Werner et al., 2023).

Recent studies have pointed to the fact that destinations in certain parts of the world might soon no longer be suitable to host events at all or only during certain times of the year, given the increasing temperatures and frequent heat waves (e.g., Aaheim, Amundsen, Dokken, & Wei, 2012; Yañez, Hopkins, & Porter, 2020). Due to the rising number of weather-related incidents as a result of climate change, event organisers will also need to spend an increasing amount of funds on health, risk and safety-related measures and may struggle to find insurance companies willing to cover these severe risks – which threatens the viability and existence of events in the future (Gobiet et al., 2014; Werner et al., 2023).

For this special issue of the Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, we would like to invite papers that explicitly explore the ways in which event organisers, planners, policy analysts, and other decision-makers and actors deal with climatic changes around events as well as the related adaptation tools, methods, approaches and processes that have been adopted to do so. We particularly value specific case studies from different parts of the world, practical experiences and empirical insights through the collection of quantitative or qualitative data or a combination of the two.

The main themes identified by the editors include (but are not limited to):

• The impacts of climate change on different event types and the resulting consequences for decision-makers, planners, policy analysts and other actors, particularly relating to future strategic event planning
• Best practice cases and examples concerning approaches, methods, and policies to adapt to climate change, including (empirical) evidence of their effectiveness
• The importance of stakeholders in the implementation of climate adaptation measures
• Organisational frameworks for increasing adaptive capacity
• Instruments of climate adaptation management (e.g., weather forecasts)
• Discussion of costs for climate adaptation measures (e.g., climate protection vs. climate adaptation measures)
• Sensitivity analyses
• Knowledge management within the event community (in the context of climate change and climate adaption)
• Event risk management in the context of an increase in weather-related incidents
• The relevance of climate adaptation policies, regulations and laws for events
• Global Production Networks / Value Chain Risk analyses

We are also happy to consider other proposals related to the overall theme of the special issue.

This special issue is subject to the following submission and review procedures:

• Authors wishing to publish papers in this special issue are invited to send an abstract of 500 words (excl. references) to [email protected] by January 15^th 2024.
• Submission of the abstract implies that the work described has not been published before; that it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; and that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities at the institute where the work has been carried out. The publisher will not be held legally responsible should there be any claims for compensation.
• Authors whose abstracts are accepted will be required to submit full papers of approximately 6,000-8,000 words by August 1^st 2024.
• Full papers must be submitted online through the Taylor & Francis submission site of the Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure & Events. Please select “Special Issue: Events and climate change: Policy responses and adaptation strategies for the events industry” for your submission. Full author publication guidelines may be found at: https://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?show=instructions&journalCode=rprt20 
• All full papers submitted will be referred through a double-blind review process.
• Based on the reviewers’ recommendations, the guest editors and the Editor-in-Chief will decide whether a particular submission should be accepted as it is, revised and resubmitted, or rejected.
• For more information, please contact any of the guest editors: Kim Werner, Kai-Michael Griese or Martin Franz.

 DEADLINES

•     Abstract Submissions: by February 10th, 2024
•     Abstract Decisions: will be provided by February 15th, 2024
•     Full Paper Submissions: no later than August 1st, 2024
•     Reviews and Decisions: by December 31st, 2024

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