Hot town, summer in the city – Effects of hot days on recreational and leisure behaviour and sightseeing programmes of city tourists – as exemplified by the case of Vienna – pilot study

Numerous studies indicate that European cities, which in several cases are also tourist destinations, are going to face a continuous increase of heat days and heat waves. High-density building areas and a small amount of green space strengthen urban heat effects that lead to urban heat islands. The city administration and the tourist industry can diminish these urban heat islands by adaptation strategies. As part of the pilot study, interviews are carried out to analyse changes in temporal and spatial recreational use patterns of tourists on heat days. The results of the interviews will be related to the human thermal perception using the physiological equivalent temperature (PET). On the basis of the results of the interviews and an analysis of literature on how to adapt city tourism to climate change, basics for measures concerning the future development of city tourism will be defined in order to make city tourism more pleasant on heat days.