Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of travel and tourism industry in climate change and to consider the implications of climate change for the travel and tourism industry. Design/methodology/approach – The paper outlines why the Caribbean is currently the most tourism‐dependent region in the world and profiles the reasons why the island economies of the Caribbean are so vulnerable to climate change. Findings – The paper advocates action based on the available evidence and the fact that most of the essential infrastructure for tourism is located at or near the shoreline, in areas that will be vulnerable to sea‐level rise and storm surge. This combination of dependency and vulnerability makes the Caribbean a particularly pertinent and poignant example of how countries can come to rely on an industry that might prove to contain the seed of not only its own destruction, but also that of some vulnerable host economies. Originality/value – This paper provides a comprehensive summary of the key evidence relating to the growing threat of climate change to the Caribbean.