Enduring climate stress: Climate justice in a warming destination

Extreme heat is reshaping urban tourism, yet its justice implications remain under-examined, particularly in heritage cities of the Global South. This research investigates how domestic tourists experience and interpret heat in Isfahan, a UNESCO-listed city confronting intensifying thermal stress within its heritage core. Drawing on a climate justice framework, the research analyses qualitative interviews to examine distributive, procedural, recognition, and restorative dimensions of thermal inequity. Findings reveal that heat exposure is unevenly structured through heritage design, commodified cooling, limited risk communication, and infrastructural neglect. Vulnerabilities are intersectional, shaped by gendered embodiment, age, mobility, and economic capacity, challenging assumptions of domestic tourists as climate-insulated subjects. Informal solidarities emerge in response to governance gaps, yet participants articulate demands for systemic repair, including guaranteed access to water and shade. The study advances climate justice scholarship by positioning heritage governance as a critical arena where conservation, adaptation, and embodied vulnerability intersect in an era of escalating heat extremes.