Benidorm FIT addresses the effects on tourism of climate change as an opportunity

Benidorm International Tourism Forum has resumed the debate this morning with the round table 'SDG 13: Action for the Summit', moderated by the General Director of Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, Herick Campos, which has brought together Jorge Olcina, professor of Regional Geographic Analysis of the University of Alicante (UA); Ibán Molina, by videoconference, Institutional Delegate of Iberdrola in the Valencian Community; and Adolfo Utor, President and CEO of Baleària.

The round table was held in Benidorm City Hall Assembly Hall, it was broadcast live and followed by the 337 people registered in the Forum through the event's website and in person by, among others, the mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez; the managing director of the Visit Benidorm Foundation, Leire Bilbao; and the president of the Valencian Community Hotel and Tourist Business Association, HOSBEC, Toni Mayor.

In his presentation, Herick Campos pointed out that "without sustainability there will be no tourism" and has set an example of the way forward for the work carried out by Benidorm as a model of sustainable tourism development and adaptation to climate change. Effort embodied in the Benidorm DTI + Seguro Plan, awarded at the beginning of October, by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, in the first Sustainable Tourism Plans in Destinations with a subsidy of 2.92 million euros.

Jorge Olcina was the first to speak at the round table. And he has done so remembering that the Forum has become a "world reference" and "an item in terms of tourism sustainability." The professor of Geographical Analysis has detailed a decalogue of actions that tourist destinations must carry out to adjust "to the 21st century, of sustainability and adaptation to climate change."

Olcina has affirmed that climate change is "scientific evidence", noting that the decade 2010-2020 has been "since 1850 the warmest in history". Among the effects, the global atmospheric circulation is being "modified", which entails extreme changes and, for example, the increase "in 2020 of 15% of the cold drops more than normal". The professor has indicated that we are talking about "a Mediterranean character of climate change" in which the sea water has warmed more than the air.

Another of the effects to which he has referred is the rise in minimum temperatures. The "loss of climatic comfort", with excessive tropical nights. Let it snow less and have less cold seasons. Extreme episodes with "more rainfall in less time", or "short and intense droughts". Jorge Olcina has confirmed the forecasts of sea level rise, although specifying that it will be "a maximum of 30 cm" in our Mediterranean which will generate "Levante storms", such as Gloria and will force "to reconsider the Coastal Law" .

On the other hand, the professor has been convinced that the tourism sector will know how to accommodate itself. In addition, climate change will be "an opportunity" that can be taken into account, for example, for the extension of the high seasons of "late spring and early autumn" to adapt the industry to the new reality or design our cities guaranteeing "water supply" or "sustainable drainage" in episodes of intense rains.

Olcina believes that the financial support of the European Union and the drafting of health protocols "adapted to heat waves" are necessary. With regard to the industry, it should continue to incorporate "water and energy saving measures" and improve the design of buildings. Finally, for tourist destinations that adopt all these convergent measures, it suggests “a seal of adaptation to climate change” that would become “a trademark of the ITDs”.

The greatest challenge for the 21st century

In his speech, Ibán Molina said that climate change is "the greatest challenge of the 21st century" and has subscribed "100%" to what Olcina described. Influencing the vision of the phenomenon as "an opportunity" for tourist destinations. Molina as a solution has proposed decarbonization, following the reverse path that has brought us to the current situation.

The Iberdrola representative has detailed that currently "only 25%" of energy demand is electricity. To improve the indices, he suggests self-consumption in which users generate their own electricity and dump surpluses into the grid. Molina recalled that every time "renewable energy is cheaper" and has advanced that "in two or three years, the electric car will reach parity" with those of fossil fuels. Ibán Molina also ventures into the development of energy proposals from hydrogen.

For Ibán Molina, the challenges of climate change will represent "an opportunity for the Spanish economy" with the support of the roadmap that marks the European Green Pact of the EU and applying criteria of efficiency and management. In this way, it has confirmed Iberdrola's commitment to sustainability, giving an example of the closure of all its coal plants.

Baleària, 10 years of Pact for Sustainability

The last to speak at the round table, Adolfo Utor, defended that Baleària is a “responsible and civic” company that is considered “an important part of society”. The executive director of the shipping company has recalled that his company has already been “registered in the Pact for Sustainability for 10 years” and has developed an “internal ethical code” in defense of the environment that they exercise “out of conviction and convenience” because, it has underlined, "ethics is profitable."

Utor also insists on the idea of ​​climate change as an “opportunity” for destinations and to address it successfully, he points out the progress “of the Millennium SDGs” because they contemplate “sustainable economic development” and are “our road map”, he indicated. , by remembering the "reputation" earned by your company in the application of sustainability policies such as, for example, the measurements of the carbon footprint, of the "CO2 rates that we emit into the atmosphere" to reduce them. It has also highlighted the push given by Baleària in the use of cleaner "transitional" energies, such as liquefied natural gas, which, despite being a fossil source, "reduces particle emissions by up to 30%" and which already uses six of its great ships.

Utor has finished his speech by emphasizing that "sustainability is not an option, it is the only way".