To beach or not to beach? Socio-economic factors influencing beach tourists’ perceptions of climate and weather in South Africa

Beach and coastal tourism belong to the outdoor tourism sector and are strongly dependent on climate and weather. This is of particular concern for South Africa’s coastline, which is characterised by climate heterogeneity, facing multiple threats under climate change. Of the few studies exploring climate perceptions of tourists, the majority have predominantly focused on the global north. This study provides insight into beach tourists’ perceptions of weather and climate in South Africa, in relation to socio-economic and cross-cultural factors. This is done to evaluate discriminators for future research on the topic. A questionnaire was administered to 593 domestic and international participants. The survey was conducted at nine destinations of greatest touristic importance. The statistical analysis revealed significant correlations between tourists’ nationality and their perception of climate importance. For example, domestic tourists are visibly more concerned about the climate at their holiday destination in South Africa than international tourists. No statistically significant correlations were returned for education and age, although for income, minor Cramer’s V correlations were calculated. This reveals the importance of the country of origin of tourists in exploring the climate perception of beach and coastal touristswp.