Curtis attends international meeting on climate change, coastal and marine tourism

Dr. Scott Curtis represented East Carolina University at the first Innovators Think Tank on Climate Change and Coastal & Marine Tourism held July 22-24 in the Dominican Republic.

Scott Curtis

Curtis is an affiliate faculty member in the Center for Sustainability and a professor of atmospheric science in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at ECU.

Experts in tourism, sustainability, business and coastal and marine environments gathered to take stock of the tourism industry in addressing climate change impacts, with a special focus on island states and coastal and marine areas in the Caribbean.

Curtis was the center’s 2014 Outstanding Affiliate Faculty member and has consistently contributed to research and outreach activities and to the learning experiences of students in the master’s degree program in sustainable tourism.

He has published on weather and climate impacts to coastal tourism in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, in particular the differences in perceptions of climate change between local residents and second-homeowners and the value and use of forecasts by tourism businesses. He also has researched Caribbean climates and was recently funded by the National Science Foundation to study small farmer vulnerability and resilience to climate change, market stress and the role of water management.

Curtis and Dr. E. Jeffrey Popke, ECU professor of human geography, received a 2015 Sustainability Seed Grant this summer from the center for their proposal titled “Enhancing Sustainability in the Caribbean: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in an Era of Climate Change.”