Extreme weather is changing tourism, but the travel industry isn’t ready
Climate change will remap travel patterns in a way that will likely be a blow to southern Europe
An idyllic summer holiday turned into a nightmare after thousands of people were evacuated from Greek islands beset by wildfires — the latest reminder that Europe’s tourism industry needs to confront the realities of climate change and adapt fast.
Summers have been getting more intense in southern Europe, and the blazes in Greece are a grim repeat of deadly fires that devastated the country in 2021. Unbearable heat in 2023 has forced authorities to shut the Acropolis and driven tourists on the Italian island of Sardinia indoors. And that’s with just 1.2°C of global warming from pre-industrial levels. Scientists say it’s going to get worse even if we contain the temperature rise to the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2°C...
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