Nearly 68% of Australia’s Tourism Destinations at Significant Risk Due to Climate Change, Report Reveals

Département de recherche, d’études stratégiques et de relations internationales 10-09-2024

Bushfire smoke blanketing South Australia’s wine regions, the Daintree rainforest isolated by floods, and tourists stranded at major airports amid severe storms. This is the potential future of Australia’s tourism industry if the climate crisis persists, according to a new report.

An analysis of 178 tourism assets across the country, from national parks to city landmarks and airports, found that over half face serious climate risks. As temperatures rise, disruptions will increase, threatening many of the 620,000 jobs in Australia’s tourism sector, the report by Zurich Insurance and economic consultants Mandala highlighted.

“The sheer scale of the issue was striking,” said Adam Triggs, partner at Mandala and economic expert. “As we examined various sites across the country, the systemic nature of this risk became evident.”

The report, released Monday, utilized data from Zurich to assess how vulnerable regions are to nine specific climate threats, including wind, flooding, heat, storms, droughts, bushfires, hail, and heavy rainfall.

Climate models used in the analysis projected changes under a “middle-of-the-road” scenario, assuming global temperatures increase by 2°C by mid-century. This level of warming could place 68% of tourism assets in the high-risk category by 2050.

Queensland stood out with 52% of its tourism sites falling into the highest of five risk categories, more than any other state. This includes areas where multiple, severe risks with significant impacts were identified.

Key high-risk locations mentioned in the report include Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Bondi Beach, Victoria’s Great Ocean Road and Grampians, Cable Beach, and Kalbarri National Park in Western Australia, and Canberra’s National Arboretum.

South Australia’s Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills, Queensland’s Daintree Rainforest and K’Gari Island, Tasmania’s Cataract Gorge, as well as Kakadu and Uluru in the Northern Territory, were also flagged as particularly vulnerable.

All 31 of Australia’s busiest airports were placed in the two highest climate risk categories due to their exposure to storms and high winds.

Scenic wine regions, botanic gardens, national parks, roads, and railways were found to be at the highest risk, while museums, galleries, and stadiums were considered to have relatively low risk.

Triggs emphasized the need for Australia to strengthen its efforts to make tourism sites more resilient and adapt to the already present impacts of climate change.

The 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires slashed tourism revenues by 35%. If a similar event occurred today, it could endanger up to 176,000 jobs, with the majority located outside major cities, the report stated.

A study from earlier this year revealed that the Black Summer fires instantly reduced the tourism sector’s output by $2.8 billion, severely affecting supply chains.

Triggs noted that while policy discussions in Australia often focus on reducing emissions, insufficient attention is given to addressing the climate change impacts that are already happening and are set to worsen.

Daniel Gschwind, a professor at the Griffith Institute for Tourism, expressed concern over the report’s findings, warning that they “should worry everyone.”

“The tourism industry is now bearing the consequences of decades of global policy failure to curb emissions,” he said.

Gschwind urged the tourism sector to actively advocate for climate action and use its platforms to raise awareness. “Together with governments and communities, we must continue building resilience to climate impacts. We need to respond across all fronts and intensify our efforts,” he added.