Almost 68% of Australia’s tourism sites at major risk if climate crisis continues, report says

The aftermath of wild weather at Currumbin beach near the Gold Coast in 2020. Climate impacts are a major threat to Australia’s tourism industry, a new report says. Photograph: Patrick Hamilton/AFP/Getty Images

South Australia’s wine regions shrouded in bushfire smoke, the Daintree rainforest cut off by flooding and tourists marooned at major airports because of violent storms. This snapshot is the potential chaotic future for Australia’s tourism industry, a new report has warned.

At least half of 178 tourism assets around the country – from national parks to city attractions and airports – are facing major climate risks, the analysis showed. And as the heat rises, so do the disruptions. Many of the country’s 620,000 tourism jobs will be under threat, according to the report from the insurance group Zurich and the economic analysts Mandala.