The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise, Profit, and Peril at the Beach – An Exploration of Global Resort Culture and Climate Change from Monte Carlo to Miami Beach

The Last Resort examines beach resort culture from its origins in fashionable society to its current role in the global economy, as the travel industry faces climate challenges. Sarah Stodola explores what draws people to beaches as places of escape and paradise, while investigating the environmental and economic costs of resort development: impacts on local economies, construction practices, beach erosion, carbon emissions, and cycles of overdevelopment and decline. Stodola combines firsthand travel observations with investigative reporting to trace the history and future of coastal tourism. She visits Monte Carlo, where beach resort culture began; a village in Fiji transformed by a single resort's opening; Acapulco, stripped of its exclusivity through overdevelopment; and Miami Beach, where efforts are underway to prevent the barrier island from disappearing into the ocean. With sea levels projected to rise 1.5 to 3 feet by century's end, many beaches will become impossible to preserve and may disappear entirely. The book examines how beach travel has become central to global culture and economy while confronting the industry's environmental impact and the question of what will remain when rising water threatens coastal destinations.