Snowmobiling and Climate Change: Exploring Shifts in Snowmobile Activity Using a Temporal Analogue Approach in Ontario (Canada)

Michelle Rutty (), Francesca Cardwell and Grant Gunn
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Michelle Rutty: Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Francesca Cardwell: Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Grant Gunn: Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada

Tourism and Hospitality, 2023, vol. 4, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: The multi-billion-dollar snowmobile industry is predicated on natural snowfall and cold temperatures, with a near absence of research that examines industry response to climatic variability and change. Using a temporal analogue approach, this study examines 30 years of climate data (1989–2019), along with operational (grooming hours) and performance (permit sales) indicators, to provide insight into the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of the Ontario snowmobile industry in a medium (RCP4.5) and high (RCP8.5) mid-century (2046–2060) emission scenario. The results underscore important temporal and spatial variability across Ontario’s 16 snowmobile districts, indicating that snowmobilers are highly resilient to marginal conditions, changing districts and switching from seasonal to daily permits in response to warming temperatures. The findings from this study can inform risk assessments in other major snowmobile markets (e.g., Canada, Europe, USA), with future research needs discussed.

Keywords: snowmobiling; tourism; climate change; analogue; weather; behaviour (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z3 Z30 Z31 Z32 Z33 Z38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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