A new report from the Climate Council has highlighted both the threats and opportunities climate change poses for the tourism industry in Australia.
The non-profit organisation reports that Australia’s top five natural tourist attractions could be impacted by extreme weather events. These are beaches, wildlife, the Great Barrier Reef and national parks.
In particular, a 0.5m rise in sea levels could result in a 100 fold increase in flooding right around the country’s huge coastline, including Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns. The global rise in temperatures could also lead to the number of days above 35ºC increase to over 100 a year in the country’s central region, which includes Ayers Rock, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tourism is a multibillion-dollar industry in Australia, estimated to provide over 500,000 jobs, and a crucial export business for the country.
This is an excerpt from an article originally published by Climate Action.
