Climate change and rainforest tourism in Australia

Abstract

[Extract] Diverse natural attractions, including spectacular scenery, ancient indigenous culture and unique flora and fauna, make Australia one of the leading providers of nature-based tourism in the world, attracting over 3.1 million international visitors in 2009 and many more domestic visitors (Tourism Research Australia, 2010). Moreover, Australia's national parks and protected areas are the basis for nature-based tourism experiences that underpin Australia's $95 billion tourism industry (Tourism Research Australia, 2012). As climate defines the length and quality of tourism seasons, affects tourism operations and influences environmental conditions that both attract and deter visitors, the tourism sector is considered to be highly climate-sensitive (Becken and Hay, 2007; Turton et al., 2009; Pang et al., 2013). Anthropogenic climate change is likely to result in both positive and negative impacts on tourism at international tourism destinations over coming decades (Becken and Hay, 2007; Pang et al., 2013). Globally, Australia is considered among the most at risk of adverse impacts on the sector, especially the nature-based market, due to the climatically sensitive nature of many of the country's iconic tourist destinations, including the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu National Park and Queensland's Wet Tropics rainforests (Turton et al., 2010; Ruhanen and Shakeela, 2013).