Trends of Climate Change on Mt. Gongga and Its Impacts on Tourism Development

The objective of this study was to identify the trends of climate change on the eastern slope of Gongga Mountain and its impacts on tourism development. According to the weather data of Gongga Mountain Ecological Observation Station, climate has become warmer at 3000m of the Gongga Mountain (eastern slope) since 1988. The warming trend was 0.15°C per decade. The rise of temperature occurred in winters and springs, while cooling summers appeared. In addition, the east slope of Mt. Gongga has become wetter for the increase of precipitation and decrease of evaporation. The Hailuogou glacier, an indicator of climate change, has strongly retreated. There were many direct and indirect impacts of climate change on tourism at Gongga Mountain. They were mainly reflected in: (1) Plant phenology tended to change in spring and autumn, i.e., early flowering in spring and late leaves coloring and losing in autumn. The change of vegetation landscapes might influence best timing to enjoy them; (2) The quality of glacial landscape degraded with climate warming; (3) The optimal tourism season would range from March to November instead of the present April to October; (4) Monthly person visit tended to increase with the rise of monthly mean temperature.