According to the Bureau of Meteorology’s long-range forecast, there is an increased chance of unusually warm days and nights across Australia, and above average rainfall is likely across parts of eastern, western and far northern Australia, from November through to January.

Speaking with news.com.au, Big Red Group chief executive David Anderson said: “The extreme weather that we’re seeing is a persistent threat to the tourism and experiences industry.”

Brett Mitchell, Australian managing director at Intrepid Travel, seconded this: “We’ve highlighted climate change as one of our most pressing risks as a business … We’re seeing it all over the world and also here in Australia.”

Touching on the forecast, Rob Sharpe from Sky News Weather said, “Our forecast is that Australia as a whole should see a summer in the top ten hottest on record – primarily aided by the warm seas and the influence of climate change.”

The Bureau has said that through these months, it will be the peak time for tropical cyclones, severe thunderstorms, flooding, heatwaves and bushfires.

Touching on how Australia’s tourism industry will be impacted by these conditions, Anderson said “there is a changing climate issue and that is changing behaviours for consumers”.

In northern Australia, such as the Kimberley region, the tourism seasons Intrepid Travel operates are getting shorter “just because of the volatility of weather”. In the final week of 2023, Big Red Group said experience bookings for the Gold Coast fell by 57 per cent compared to the previous year.

Anderson also added that Australian tour operators had “a lot of scar tissue from the last few years” with devastating bushfires and the pandemic.