Climate change and tourism editorial

Climate change is an issue that is not yet taken seriously enough by many tourism academics or the industry. The Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change concludes that the world's climate is changing and that the cause is most likely due to human activities over the past 200 years. While impacts forthe most part are yet to be felt, early signsare already evident in some areas. Tourism isboth a contributor to and a potential victim of climate change. Given the importance of this issue in the Asia Pacific region it is timely for tourism researchers to commence a more rigorous program of research directed at assessing the potential effects on the tourism industry and developing strategies for dealing with its effects.