Growing up in Texas, Mary Beth Walsh thought she was used to high temperatures. Her hometown of Dallas, which is currently being devastated by relentless heatoften experience hot flashes.
But when the 21-year-old visited Athens in mid-June with her friends, she was shocked by the “unbearable” 98 Fahrenheit (37 Celsius) heat she faced. “I actually had no idea how hot it was until we got there, which was quite surprising,” she told CNN.
“I always joke that I have a very high heat tolerance; I bring my hoodie with me to class in August (in the US),” she said.
But the apartment where she was staying did not have air conditioning and temperatures were too high during the day to explore the city on foot. “Our energy levels were lower than we thought they would be,” she said. “It was unbearable to walk in the direct heat.”
The sweltering summers caused by the climate crisis in Europe are now a reality that many tourists are waking up to. Interest in visiting the warmest Mediterranean countries has fallen in 2023 amid record heat waves and forest fires, with more temperate destinations becoming increasingly popular, experts say.
Recent heat powered deaths and disappearances in Greece, including that of British television personality Michael Mosleyhave the potential to further fuel this shift north, as incidents of extreme heat influence vacation decisions.
The degree to which the travel industry and tourists can adapt to the rising tide of climate impacts is becoming a bigger problem for southern European countries, many of which rely on tourism to boost their economies.
Night shift
Recent high temperatures have put the climate crisis front and center for some European tourists.
“The climate crisis that we feared would happen in 10 or 15 years is already here in some parts of the world. That’s the scary part,” Roo Clark, 28, from Suffolk in eastern England, who is currently staying with her girlfriend on the Greek island of Skyros, told CNN.
“Five years ago, my friends and I wouldn’t have even talked about it (climate change), but now it’s more of a conversation.”
Greek authorities have repeatedly warned tourists not to underestimate the intense heat, especially in the middle of the day. Hiking in high temperatures has been a common thread linking recent deaths in the country.
Temperatures in Greece are forecast to be between 90 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit (low to mid 30s Celsius) in the coming weeks, a few degrees above the summer average, according to CNN meteorologists, except for one to two days when it rains. . is forecast, which will keep temperatures low.
Stefanos Sidiropoulos, who runs Greece’s largest travel agency specializing in outdoor activities, said tourists should not jump straight into activities. “People who come from northern Europe, or Canada, places with colder temperatures, it is more difficult for them. They need time to adapt to these conditions,” he told CNN.
Sidiropoulos’ travel agency, Trekking Hellas, now offers some activities when temperatures are lower, such as during sunrise and sunset. “Or at night, with torches”, he adds.
Tourism addict
The influence of climate change on the places where tourists spend their holidays will have serious repercussions for some countries that depend on travelers’ income.
In Greece, tourism contributes almost 38 billion euros ($41 billion) – around 20% of the country’s entire economy, according to to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
In Italy, where level three heat alerts – the highest alert – were recently issued for the cities of Rome, Perugia and Palermo, tourism accounts for 10% of the country’s economy, according to the latest figureswith one in every eight jobs linked to industry.
Following the 2023 European summer heat wave, which saw thousands flee due to forest fires on the Greek island of Rhodes, there has been a 7% increase in the expression of concerns about climate change among European travelers, according to the European Travel Commission (ETC), a non-profit association responsible for promoting climate change. Europe as a travel destination.
This followed a decline in interest in southern Mediterranean vacation spots between the summers of 2022 and 2023, with cooler destinations such as the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Denmark becoming more attractive, ETC told CNN.
“Travelers are increasingly aware of extreme weather phenomena and their potential impact on their holidays,” Eduardo Santander, CEO of ETC, told CNN, adding that in the future this could lead to more travelers visiting southern Europe during spring and late fall rather than during the summer. the hottest summer months.
For now, Santander said tourists’ concerns about climate change tend to be relatively short-lived. “Travelers get worried after the summer, but tend to forget about these events when they book their next spring vacation,” he said.
‘Full of bites’
Extreme heat is a consequence of the impact of climate change on tourist attractions across Europe. But there are others.
Warmer conditions caused by climate change are pushing populations of disease-carrying mosquitoes into new areas of Europe, according to to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Clark, the tourist currently staying in Skyros, said mosquito numbers were very high during the early June heat wave.
“We were absolutely full of bites. There was no wind, and even though we got pulverized, they still found a way,” Clark told CNN. “It was definitely the light winds and high temperatures that caused this.”
A key species of mosquito that can spread dengue, chikungunyaIt is Zica viruses, called Aedes albopictusit is now established in many European countries, including Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, according to ECDC.
Andrea Ammon, director of ECDC, said travel could contribute to expanding the species’ range. “Increased international travel from countries where dengue is endemic will also increase the risk of imported cases,” she said in a statement. declaration.
Last year, ECDC recorded 130 locally acquired dengue cases in Europe, compared to 71 cases in 2022.
There have been no cases of locally acquired dengue fever reported in Europe so far this summer, the ECDC told CNN, but based on trends from the previous summer, they expect the first cases to be reported in the coming weeks.
A human case of West Nile virus infection, spread by natives Culex pipiens mosquito, was reported in the Spanish province of Seville in March, according to the ECDC. Last year, the organization recorded 713 human cases of locally acquired West Nile virus infection in nine EU countries, resulting in 67 deaths.
Adapting to the ‘new normal’
Last summer record temperatures Climate change around the world has been driven by a combination of human-caused climate change and the return of the natural phenomenon El Niño, which causes warmer global temperatures.
This combination has raised temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe, the fastest-warming continent on the planet.
But even if El Niño’s impact wanes, experts say the long-term trend toward global warming will continue. “Climate change is tilting the odds in favor of more extreme events that happen more frequently and then become more severe,” Rebecca Carter, director of climate adaptation and resilience at the World Resources Institute, told CNN.
She added that the high number of tourists in some regions of Europe is putting pressure on already hard-pressed local authorities as they juggle the need to keep residents protected from the high heat as well as protect visitors.
Carter said the travel industry needs to consider climate adaptation. “It’s something I don’t think the travel industry is thinking about as much as it should be,” she said, adding that booking rules could be more flexible for flights and hotels, for example.
“When people plan these trips, it happens weeks or months in advance and you can’t predict when a specific place will experience extreme heat.”
Some tourists, such as parents whose children are in school, have less flexibility when deciding travel plans, Carter said. In these circumstances, she said planning was key: “What would you do if there was an extreme heat wave and the power went out? Can you map out in advance where you would seek help?”
Sidiropoulos of Trekking Hellas agreed that future planning was important, but he wanted visitors to still get out and appreciate the beauty of Greece’s culture and natural world.
“I always tell people who are traveling, ‘Don’t stay at the hotel and just do the classic things like go to a restaurant,’” he said. “You have the opportunity to see nature… and to see the authentic side of our country.”
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