Extensive infrastructure and client expectations of luxury will mean that their carbon footprint and water usage is likely to exceed significantly that of average urban households. Often located in coastal or riverine settings, they are vulnerable to reduced availability of essential goods and services, sea level rise and episodic climatic events. Adaptation will require an understanding of projected changes and impacts on regions, economic sectors and society, consideration of options, and incorporation of risk management approaches into planning processes (Pittock, 2005).

This paper reports on progress in this study which investigates environmental management in resort hotels in Australia in response to climate change, focusing on organizational and technical activities aimed at reducing the environmental impact of a hotel’s operations. The study is significant as it focuses on an important environmental challenge and directly supports the government’s commitment improve energy efficiency. The research deals with the need to improve understanding of the contribution of human behaviour to environment and climate change, and gain insight into adaptive responses and strategies. It focuses on the tourism industry and promotes the integration of environmental considerations into standard management procedures. The research is innovative in that there is little known about environmental awareness in the resort hotel industry and as an adaptive generic framework, the model can be modified and applied to other industries.