Gerrebrands, Robin (2026) Climate Adaptation Policy to Reduce the Vulnerability of Tourism Dependency on the Island of Bonaire. Bachelor thesis, Global Responsibility & Leadership (GRL).
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Abstract
The Caribbean island of Bonaire is vulnerable to climate change. This vulnerability is characterized by its tourism-based economy. Climate adaptation policy is necessary to combat this vulnerability. However, a specified adaptation plan addressing this, seems to be lacking. Therefore this study aims to discover how climate adaptation policy can be improved to reduce the vulnerability of Bonaire’s tourism-based economy. Methods used included a literature review, a document analysis and expert interviews in the fields of climate adaptation and tourism. The results show that Bonaire’s tourism-based economy is vulnerable to climate change. The literature states climate hazards such as extreme weather and sea level rise can negatively impact tourism resources on the island. When this happens, tourism demand is expected to decline. Considering the island's dependency on tourism for income generation, this could severely impact the island's economy. Current policies in place lack coherency and tourism specificity. Policy desires on the other hand, include adaptation policy for a strong foundation, alongside tourism-specific policy. To bridge the gap between policy in place and policy feasibility, improvements should be made regarding capacity, data collection, funding, willingness and policy coherency. Although some progress has been made over the past years. Taking into account the limitations of potential research bias, climate uncertainty and positionality of the researcher, this research could contribute to the improvement of climate adaptation policy and reducing vulnerabilities of tourism-based economies, for Bonaire.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Name supervisor: | Huiskes, M.C. |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Jul 2026 07:05 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Jul 2026 07:05 |
| URI: | https://campus-fryslan.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/891 |
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