Adaptive labour

A typology of climate (im)mobilities and structured stillness in tourism contexts

Bibliographic Data

ID21792131
AuthorsHuu Nghia Le (0000-0003-2183-0911, Tomas Bata University in Zlin, corresponding author)
Year2025
Pages1-11
Publication date2025-12-07
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueClimate and Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1756-5529 • E-ISSN: 1756-5537
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17565529.2025.2592260
OpenAlexW4417097798
LanguageEN
References cited26

This study examines climate immobility within tourism economies, arguing that remaining in place is not merely a sign of vulnerability but a functional and relational burden. Drawing on 56 interviews across eleven destinations in Vietnam, the paper develops a grounded typology of six forms of climate immobility: performative, aesthetic, seasonal, bypassed, constrained, and adaptive. These forms of staying are shaped by tourism imaginaries, infrastructural expectations, and labour roles, showing that immobility often enables the movement and comfort of others. Integrating insights from structuration theory, climate vulnerability, and mobility justice, the study demonstrates that immobility is actively produced through policy design, spatial expectations, and unequal responsibilities. Rather than a passive condition, climate immobility is reframed as an essential but often invisible adaptation function, captured here as adaptive labour and as structured stillness. The findings contribute to climate justice debates by highlighting the overlooked labour of staying and align with sustainable development goals 13 and 8

Climate change · Tourism · Typology · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development

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