Adjustment of the thermal component of two tourism climatological assessment tools using thermal perception and preference surveys from Hungary

• This study introduces new methodological concepts for integrating seasonal subjective thermal assessment patterns of people into the thermal components of two tourism climatological evaluation tools: the Tourism Climatic Index (TCI) and the Climate-Tourism/Transfer-Information-Scheme (CTIS). In the case of the TCI, we replaced the air temperature and relative humidity as the basis of the initial rating system with the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET)—a complex human biometeorological index. This modification improves the TCI’s potential to evaluate the thermal aspects of climate. The major accomplishments of this study are (a) the development of a new, PET-based rating system and its integration into the thermal sub-indices of the TCI and (b) the regionalization of the thermal components of CTIS to reflect both the thermal sensation and preference patterns of people. A 2-year-long (2011–2012) thermal comfort survey conducted in Szeged, Hungary, from spring to autumn was utilized to demonstrate the implementation of the introduced concepts. We found considerable differences between the thermal perception and preference patterns of Hungarians, with additional variations across the evaluated seasons. This paper describes the proposed methodology for the integration of the new seasonal, perception-based, and preference-based PET rating systems into the TCI, and presents the incorporation of new PET thresholds into the CTIS. In order to demonstrate the utility of the modified evaluation tools, we performed case study climate analyses for three Hungarian tourist destinations. The additional adjustments introduced during the course of those analyses include the reduction of TCI’s temporal resolution to 10-day intervals and the exclusion of nocturnal and winter periods from the investigation.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Klimatforskning (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Climate Research (hsv//eng)

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