Tourists are evacuated as huge wildfire rages across Greece’s Rhodes island on July 22, 2023.
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Sweltering conditions across southern Europe could speed up a burgeoning trend amongst holidaymakers, as more tourists prioritize milder temperatures or off-season travel to avoid spending their time away in oppressive heat.
Europe is currently experiencing among the hottest temperatures of the summer up to now, with yet one more heat wave expected to push the mercury near record-breaking levels in the approaching days.
An intense and prolonged series of warmth waves recently brought temperatures to over 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in parts of Greece, eastern Spain, and Sardinia and Sicily in southern Italy.
Data from the European Travel Commission, a nonprofit based in Brussels, showed earlier this month that travelers planning to take trips between June and November this yr decreased by 4% compared with 2022 — but remained at a high 69%.
Spain was the most well-liked travel destination, with 8% of respondents planning a vacation locally in the approaching months, the ETC said. The southern European country was followed closely by France (7%), Italy (7%), Greece (5%) and Croatia (5%).
The recognition of Mediterranean vacation destinations, nonetheless, dropped by 10% compared with last yr, when Europe experienced its hottest summer on record.
Meanwhile, the ETC said vacation spots just like the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Ireland and Demark experienced a surge in popularity, attributing the findings to travelers in search of out less crowded destinations and the pursuit of cooler climes.
The trade body also said many planning trips in the approaching months were on the lookout for more cost-effective experiences or considering offseason travel to stretch their budgets.
Nearly 1 / 4 of the ETC survey’s respondents said they were apprehensive concerning the overall rise of trip costs, while 8% cited possible extreme weather conditions.
‘Each holiday flight makes global heating worse’
Emergency employees have been battling devastating wildfires over the past week in Greece — one of the popular Mediterranean vacation spots.
Huge blazes on the Greek island of Rhodes forced an unprecedented evacuation of some 19,000 people on Sunday, while wildfires also broke out on the islands of Evia and Corfu.
It has left many holidaymakers stuck in limbo, with the BBC reporting Monday that individuals forced to depart their hotels over the weekend have since been sleeping on the airport, in addition to in sports halls, conference centers and on the road.
Tourists wait within the airport’s departure hall as evacuations are underway as a consequence of wildfires, on the Greek island of Rhodes on July 23, 2023.
Will Vassilopoulos | Afp | Getty Images
“Increasingly, that is what you’ll face should you holiday in southern Europe in the course of the summer months,” said Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London, on Twitter.
“And each single holiday flight makes global heating worse,” he added.
Scientists say the acute weather sweeping across the globe reaffirms the increasing urgency of cutting greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and as deeply possible.
It also, the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization says, underpins why “we now have to step up efforts to assist society adapt to what’s, unfortunately, becoming the brand new normal.”
‘A tough sell’
The decline in popularity of Mediterranean countries as vacation hot spots could coincide with an emerging trend of holidaymakers in search of recent destinations with cooler temperatures.
In Estonia, for instance, average summer temperatures are inclined to hover around 20 degrees Celsius, and spot readings rarely exceed 30 degrees Celsius.
In Estonia, average summer temperatures within the Baltic country are inclined to hover around 20 degrees Celsius and the mercury rarely exceeds 30 degrees Celsius.
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Marketing campaigns to advertise Estonia’s colder climate will not be more likely to be forthcoming, nonetheless.
“Obviously when it comes to tourism marketing, it’s kind of of a tough sell,” Rainer Aavik, head of Enterprise Estonia’s tourism department, told public broadcaster ERR on July 18.
“As a complete, we’re selling the Nordic experience and the undeniable fact that there’s loads of nature and fresh air. But positioning ourselves as an opposite to warmer countries is unlikely to profit Estonia in the long run,” Aavik said.
