Evaluation of tourism climate comfort in grassland scenic spots in Ulanqab City

The aim of this study was to provide a technical assessment of grassland tourism environments, in terms of visitor and tourist comfort, with the ultimate goal of rational development of grassland climate resources. Using the meteorological observations data in Ulanqab City, the degree of tourism climate comfort was measured by considering a number of indices: temperature-humidity, wind-chill, and index of cloth loading, and building a comprehensive climate comfort evaluation model. A ten-day time scale of tourism climate comfort level was constructed, and the level of tourism climate comfort was assessed for each tourism site in the Ulanqab grasslands, using this model. The results show that, based on the temperature-humidity index as well as the wind-chill index, the optimal comfort level for visitors is attained from mid-late May to mid-late September. Based on the index of cloth loading, the best comfort level is attained from June to August. Thus, the optimal comfort period in the Ulanqab scenic area is from mid May to early September. An acceptable comfort level is associated with most of the areas assessed in this study. Only the Huiteng Xile Grassland Tourism Area had a short comfort period, from June to August. In summer the tourist comfort is high, whereas in winter the tourist comfort is low. The degree of comfort throughout the year presents an inverted “U” shape, with the climate in the north being more comfortable than that in the south. In general, weather conditions are more suitable for tourism during the summer months.