Within the context of tourism development in the countries of contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, this paper briefly discusses the challenges for industry and key issues for researchers within six broad topic areas. These are: climate change adaptation and mitigation; integration with sustainable development strategies; coping with globalization; differentiation/ uniqueness; innovation; and collaboration / partnership / networking. Practical cases are drawn from Western European experience to exemplify potential opportunities, and recent published research is identified to inform fruitful research directions. It is concluded that challenges and issues are similar across Europe, and that those relating to climate change adaptation and mitigation are, in the wider context, the most important to understand and address