Tourism is the dominant economic sector in a number of small island states in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Importance of tourism in the economies of the Bahamas:

• Accounts for 40% of gross domesticated product (GDP)
• Earns approximately US$1.3 billion in foreign exchange
• Estimated to account for more than 50% of all government revenues
• Employs approximately 50% of labor force directly, 25% in related services

Climate change and sea-level rise would affect tourism directly and indirectly:

• loss of beaches to erosion and inundation,
• salinization of freshwater aquifers,
• increasing stress on coastal ecosystems,
• damage to infrastructure from tropical and extra-tropical storms,
• and an overall loss of amenities would jeopardize the viability and threaten the long-term sustainability of this important industry in many small islands.