Climate Justice in Tourismus to Omani Cities: Bahla and Salalah

The effects of climate change are being felt in Oman: rising temperatures, more extreme weather events and sea level rise (e.g. storms/cyclones, heavy rainfall), less and more erratic rainfall are leading to aridity, drought, soil salinity, water scarcity and desertification (Ahmed & Choudri, 2012; Al-Awadhi et al., 2019; Gunawardhana et al., 2016). As a result, aquifers and other water resources are under stress (Al-Kalbani et al., 2014; Al-Maktoumi et al., 2018), flora is being lost (Al-Kindi et al., 2023; MacLaren 2016), invasive species are gaining ground (Al Ruheili et al., 2022), and mangroves, aquaculture, and agriculture are threatened (Buerkert et al., 2020; Choudri et al., 2013; Schütze et al., 2011; Shabani et al., 2018; Sharifian et al., 2021, Engelhard et al. 2022). In general, coastal tourism infrastructure is at risk (Arabadzhyan et al., 2021). Because of these impacts, heritage sites in Oman are also at risk because they are made of clay, such as Bahla Fort, and/or exposed to extreme weather conditions, such as the Frankincense Park in Wadi Dawkah near Salalah. Both can suffer from heavy rains that damage the unbaked brick walls (Bahla Fort) or flood the wadi (Frankincense Park Wadi Dawkah), a form of extreme weather that is becoming more likely with global warming (Wang et al. 2017). Local communities in Oman are aware of the importance of tourism and its potential for Omani heritage, but also of the positive and negative impacts of tourism on the environment (Fida et al. 2022, Ravikumar et al. 2022). This paper examines climate justice in the Omani heritage cities of Bahla and Salalah in the form of net-zero travel, a form of tourism that has no net impact on the climate system (Baumgartner et al. 2024).