The tourism sector declared a climate emergency in 2020. It is against this background that this Curated Collection on Climate Change and Tourism is launched. A bibliometric analysis of 1290 articles reviews the 35-year development of climate change and tourism scholarship, including major research themes, key knowledge gaps, and our capacity to deliver the enormous knowledge requirements for an effective sectoral climate response. A central finding is that the last three decades of research have failed to prepare the sector for the net-zero transition and climate disruption that will transform tourism over the next three decades. The climate change imperative demands more of the tourism academy and this collection will stimulate research and capacity for climate resilient tourism development.