Tourist hotspots face climate change 'peril'

Australia's tourism industry is at risk of "peril" due to increased environmental disasters caused by climate change, with a report warning Queensland may be the hardest-hit region.

Insurance giant Zurich and economic modelling firm Mandala Partner have evaluated the perceived risks from fire, floods, cyclones and disease perpetuated by the ongoing climate crises.

A report analysed the impact on Australia's top tourism sites including national parks, beaches, museums and major airports.

All of the analysed wine-growing regions, botanic gardens, scenic roads, rail, and rainforests national parks were found to be in the highest climate risk categories.

The report found half of Australia's tourism assets were at risk of "considerable climate damage" or "natural peril risk".

Report author Adam Triggs said of the 178 sites mapped, current projections showed almost 50 per cent were at very high or high risk of peril, but the figured jumped to 68 per cent by 2050.

"So it sort of shows that tourism is not only already at risk, but it's getting worse," Dr Triggs said.

The report found Australia's tourism industry contributed more than $170 billion in annual expenditure and employed 620,000 people, with up to 30 per cent of those jobs at risk from climate change.

Dr Triggs said expected climate policy would play a major role in the next federal election.

"I would predict in this upcoming election that there's going to be a big focus on what the impact of the safeguard mechanism is, and carbon pricing on jobs and growth," he said.

"I think Australians are aware of it, but the focus of government is still very much on the emissions reduction story, rather than that adaptation story."

The report found natural environments in Queensland and the Northern Territory faced the greatest risks, with unpredictable weather events impacting access to sites, but also damaging pristine natural wonders.

Queensland has both the highest number of sites facing elevated risks (79 per cent) and the most sites in the highest risk category (52 per cent) compared to any other jurisdiction.

Dr Triggs also found all 31 of the busiest airports in Australia fall into the highest climate risk categories, including 94 per cent in the most extreme category, due to their locations and susceptibility to perils such as wind and storms.

Natural geological formations, museums, galleries and stadia face relatively lower risk.

Despite the enduring risks, Dr Triggs said there were some simple solutions, particularly in land preservation.

"One of the things that we notice is that there's a big risk of roads and bridges that get knocked out, and when that happens no one can access that tourism site at all," he said.

"And then there's other things we can do around erosion, in terms of planting trees and making sure that we're not sort of causing biodiversity environmental degradation."

Dr Triggs said that while climate inaction was a global story, there were plenty of domestic solutions to strengthen assets.