Marine-oriented nature-based tourism plays an important socio-economic role, and provides an
incentive for conservation in many coastal regions. However, accelerating global change, and the associated
socio-economic and political change may have severe consequences for marine tourism at the
local level. Thus, understanding the ability of sectors within marine tourism to cope with, and adapt to,
change is paramount. Private sector enterprises are key players in marine tourism and their capacity to
adapt to change will vary across socio-economic and governance contexts. Thus, the resilience of these
enterprises (their ability to adapt to, and continue to function under changing pressures and circumstances)
is critical for the future of the marine tourism sector more broadly. This paper examines how
socioeconomic and governance contexts influence the resilience of coral reef tourism enterprises in three
settings: the formal and informal sector in Phuket, Thailand and enterprises on Australia's Great Barrier
Reef. Although there are differences between the three groups of enterprises, lifestyle factors, human
capital, perceived reef condition, and government support are associated with the resilience of enterprises
across all three groups. These findings suggest that policy-makers should consider enterprise
lifestyle benefits, and that a nuanced understanding of marine tourism enterprises is required