Studies assessing the effects of crises and disturbances on the tourism industry tend to examine how demand for tourism has changed, or to a lesser extent, how the tourism industry responds and the ability of the tourism industry to adapt .
Studies can be grouped into five broad overlapping categories.
First, those that focus on the impact of a specific large crisis, such as a disease outbreak, on tourism arrivals at the national, regional, or global scale .
A second group uses modelling and scenario-based analyses to explore the impacts of a changing climate on tourism arrivals at a destination.
Third, studies that empirically examine the effect of climate change on the tourism industry and the potential for adaptation.
These studies have tended to focus on the ski industries’ response to changing snow conditions .
Fourth, studies that examine the response of tourists and to changing condition of coral reefs .
Finally, a category, of mostly qualitative case studies, focuses on the response of tourism-dependent communities to disasters or shocks .