Journal of Regional and City Planning
Vol. 36 No. 3 (2025)

Linking Land Surface Temperature and Tourist Thermal Comfort: Implications for Sustainable Tourism Development in Bali, Indonesia

Rois Dinan (Politeknik Pariwisata Makassar)
MH Nateq Nouri (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
Fardiah Qonita Ummi Naila (Institut Teknologi Bandung)



Article Info

Publish Date
25 Dec 2025

Abstract

Tourism is widely recognized as one of the most climate-sensitive economic sectors, with destinations in tropical regions increasingly exposed to the impacts of global warming and rapid urbanization. Rising temperatures and the intensification of urban heat island effects have become critical challenges for tourist thermal comfort, destination competitiveness, and the sustainability of tourism development worldwide. As a globally renowned tourism destination, Bali faces growing environmental pressures associated with land-use change and expanding built-up areas; however, empirical studies linking surface temperature dynamics with tourism comfort remain limited. This study aims to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of Land Surface Temperature (LST) in Bali Province and assess their implications for tourist thermal comfort and sustainable tourism planning. A remote sensing-based analysis was conducted using satellite imagery from 2014 and 2024 to identify LST changes and evaluate thermal conditions in major tourism hotspots. Thermal comfort benchmarks were established based on internationally recognized thermal comfort indices and tourism climate literature to determine whether current temperature conditions remain within acceptable comfort thresholds. Land cover change analysis was also performed to examine the relationship between land-use transformation and surface temperature variations. The results indicate a significant increase in LST across key tourism areas, particularly in densely urbanized environments, with several popular destinations exceeding optimal thermal comfort ranges. These findings suggest potential risks to visitor experience and long-term destination attractiveness. The study emphasizes the importance of integrating LST and thermal comfort considerations into tourism and spatial planning and provides a replicable methodological framework.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jpwk

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Civil Engineering, Building, Construction & Architecture Environmental Science Social Sciences Transportation

Description

Journal of Regional and City Planning or JRCP is an open access journal mainly focusing on urban and regional studies and planning in transitional, developing and emerging economies. JRCP covers topics related to the analysis, sciences, development, intervention, and design of communities, cities, ...