Much of the coastal and marine tourism industry in the region is heavily dependent on natural assets that are vulnerable to climate change impacts. An increased frequency of extreme weather events, warming sea surface and land temperatures,and sea level rise are expected to significantly alter already dynamic coastal systems.

In northern parts of the region, high vulnerability to fluvial erosion may increase water quality impacts on downstream coastal environments.

In southern parts of the region, large and internationally significant areas of coastal wetlands may be lost in areas like the Hunter River Estuary under high-emissions sea level rise scenarios.

There is significant opportunity for regional tourism networks along the east coast to align their industry plans with regional NRM planning to identify shared assets to protect, explore opportunities for the co-management of coastal resources and environments, and to coordinate disaster planning and recovery efforts.The strong environmental stewardship ethic of coastal tourism operators provides a platform to explore future opportunities as managers of the coastal environment, including the potential for monitoring and managing carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands as an income diversification strategy.