Grigorieva Elena A
Institute for Complex Analysis of Regional Problems Far Eastern Branch Russian Academy of Sciences (ICARP FEB RAS), Birobidzhan, Russia.
Int J Biometeorol. 2021 May;65(5):717-728. doi: 10.1007/s00484-020-01875-3. Epub 2020 Feb 14.
As the twenty-first-Century Maritime Silk Road tourism program aims on development of new tourist routes with special interest on the polar regions of the Arctic and the Antarctic, as well as the Tibetan Plateau, management of climate risks in travels and their reduction is an important issue for achievement of its goals at national and local levels. Acclimatization is crucial for adventurous tourists, and especially for those traveling to extremely cold and highly elevated environments, when climate and weather in tourist destination differ significantly from those at home. The Acclimatization Thermal Strain Index for Tourism (ATSIT) is designed and used to measure numerically the physiological expenses a traveler pays during the acclimatization process. The purpose of the present study is to examine acclimatization consequences for travels from Beijing, capital of China, to destinations at the Arctic, the Antarctic, and the Tibetan Plateau, collectively referred to as the 3Polar regions, during the main seasons of winter and summer, and back. The results show that acclimatizing to cold involves greater physiological strain than adjustment to heat. Acclimatization load in winter is low for all travels from Beijing and back home. ATSIT projections detect the most harmful degree of discomfort for summer travels from Beijing. The greatest acclimatization impact comes when changing locales from hot and humid to cold and dry climatic conditions, which might cause high and very high physiological strain. Moreover, as many destinations in the 3Polar regions, mostly in the Tibetan Plateau, are located in mountains, a special acclimatization plan is required to weaken the threat of mountain sickness. The results will be helpful for warning stakeholders and the decision makers in the tourism sector of economies, and are expected to be translated into action for the development of proper intervention procedures in health control, to minimize population loss.
21世纪海上丝绸之路旅游项目旨在开发新的旅游路线，特别关注北极和南极的极地地区以及青藏高原，因此，在国家和地方层面，管理旅行中的气候风险并降低这些风险是实现该项目目标的一个重要问题。适应环境对于冒险游客来说至关重要，尤其是对于那些前往极端寒冷和高海拔环境的游客，因为旅游目的地的气候和天气与家乡有很大差异。旅游适应热应激指数（ATSIT）被设计并用于数值测量旅行者在适应过程中所付出的生理代价。本研究的目的是考察在中国首都北京与北极、南极和青藏高原（统称为“三极地区”）之间往返旅行的主要冬夏季节中，适应环境对旅行的影响。结果表明，适应寒冷比适应炎热涉及更大的生理压力。从北京往返的所有旅行在冬季的适应负荷都较低。ATSIT预测检测到从北京出发的夏季旅行中最有害的不适程度。当从炎热潮湿的气候条件转变为寒冷干燥的气候条件时，适应环境的影响最大，这可能会导致高和非常高的生理压力。此外，由于三极地区的许多目的地，主要是青藏高原的目的地位于山区，需要一个特殊的适应计划来减轻高原病威胁。研究结果将有助于向经济领域旅游业的利益相关者和决策者发出警告，并有望转化为行动，制定适当的健康控制干预程序，以尽量减少人员损失。
