As climate change heats up southern Europe, tourism is slowly moving north. According to the European Union’s 2030 Tourism Agenda, countries are seeking to create more ecological, digitized and sustainable tourism sectors, some of which are starting to promote less traditional destinations. At the same time, others are finding ways to ease the burden of over-tourism in popular destinations, media platform European Newsroom reported in a detailed article published on Friday, cited by Agerpres.

Devastating fires, temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius and tourists avoiding potential disasters by staying indoors. Will climate change change tourism – not least in the Mediterranean regions?

July became the hottest month in the history of meteorological measurements, according to data published by the European Climate Change Service Copernicus. Deputy director Samantha Burgess, referring to calculations made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said it had not been this warm for at least 120,000 years.

Regions that receive large flows of tourists are also the most affected by climate change. In Greece, thousands of tourists were evacuated in July from the islands of Rhodes and Corfu, which were devastated by fires caused by the hot weather. Italy also faced heat waves with temperatures reaching 48 degrees Celsius on the island of Sardinia.

In the future, will tourists be more attracted to Sweden or Ireland, rather than the Mediterranean? A study by the European Tourism Commission (ETC), the umbrella organization of several European tourism organizations and authorities, announced the first changes. According to the survey, Spain remains the favorite holiday destination for people who want to travel between June and November. It is followed by France, Italy, Greece and Croatia.

On the other hand, “so far there is no change in booking behavior due to the prolonged heat wave in southern Europe,” said Norbert Fiebig, president of the German Travel Association (DRV). Among the 6,000 people surveyed from all over Europe, there are 10% fewer people planning a trip to the Mediterranean compared to last year. Instead, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Ireland and Denmark recorded an increase in popularity. ETC attributes this to the fact that tourists are looking for less crowded vacation spots and milder temperatures.

“We expect tourist flows from Europe to be more affected by unpredictable weather conditions in the future,” says Eduardo Santander, chief executive of ETC. During the heat, tourists often avoid southern destinations. “This could lead to more Europeans being attracted to Central and Eastern European countries in search of milder temperatures during the summer months.” In turn, southern destinations can register a greater influx of tourists in spring and autumn.

A study conducted by the European Commission shows how the behavior of tourists can be changed. “We identified a clear pattern of change in tourism demand from north to south: northern regions benefit from climate change, while southern regions experience a significant reduction in tourism demand,” the study said.

Green potential: changing course to increase attractiveness

Aware of this reality, exacerbated by the climate crisis, Spain wants to improve its natural heritage, such as forests or biosphere reserves, to try to distance itself from its usual image. The government’s tourism promotion agency recently highlighted the need to transform the country “into a destination with many tourist attractions, not just sun and beach.”

For the government’s tourism promotion agency, this process must include the transformation of Spain’s tourism sector – a goal that is also included in the European Agenda for Tourism until 2030, which in particular emphasizes the need to establish a green and digital transition at the center of the tourism activities of the country’s tourism sector.

For several years, Slovenia has already stepped up its efforts to promote its tourism industry, building on the slogan of a green holiday destination. With its forests, abundance of water, opportunities for outdoor activities and urban tourism, Slovenia is becoming an increasingly popular destination, but not for mass tourism.

Key challenges include sustainable tourism with the lowest possible carbon footprint, sustainable mobility, healthy locally produced food and adequate human resources. By introducing sustainable practices, the population will also be able to more easily accept the pressure of tourism, which has been a problem in recent years in the most popular holiday destinations such as Bled and Bohinj.

Regional conditions affect the success of tourism

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has great tourism potential, especially in the field of mountain and river tourism. However, this potential is recognized by international development organizations, which allocate significant funds for its development and popularization, rather than national institutions. BiH also follows the global trend of increasing tourist interest in colder regions.

The region is characterized by very affordable package tours and well-preserved natural beauty, but problems arise due to poor transport infrastructure and unstable political situation. Very little has been done to promote Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tourism potential worldwide, and what has been done has not been systematically implemented.

As for climate change, probably the only positive impact is the “lengthening of the summer season”, when many tourists decide to organize their holidays in June, which implicitly reduces the pressure from the peak season, according to Dumitru Luca, president of the National Association of Travel Agencies of Romania (ANAT).

The milder winters of recent years have increased the tourist flow in the period from November to March. However, ski resorts are suffering from warming, and even if they have invested in artificial snow installations, they often have to admit defeat in the fight against constantly positive temperatures.

Protection of symbolic tourist destinations

Before lunch, at the height of the summer season, the narrow streets of the symbolic French city of Mont-Saint-Michel are usually crowded with tourists. But closer to noon, the same alleys are almost deserted.

It’s a dilemma faced by dozens of other popular tourist destinations in France, as well as in other parts of Europe, which are packed with tourists during the summer days, but become almost deserted in the evenings and during the off-season, a situation that often affects the local economy.

The small French island of Brea is limiting visitors this summer after an influx of tourists outnumbered locals by 15 times in one day. Home to just 377 permanent residents, the island is part of the European Natura 2000 conservation network, which aims to promote biodiversity by protecting the habitats of the most vulnerable species.

Recently, UNESCO recommended that Venice be included in the list of world heritage in danger. UNESCO has warned that the city is at risk of “irreversible” damage from several threats, including the climate crisis and mass tourism, and is calling on Italian authorities to do more to protect the historic city. The recommendations will be presented at a meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in September. Venice has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

Balance for local economies

Paris city authorities said on Monday that tough restrictions on online accommodation service Airbnb are paying off, citing fewer code violations this year in the French capital but also higher fines. The use of Airbnb has grown significantly in recent years around the world, as the service allows tourists to find accommodation in apartments or private houses, rather than hotels.

In 2021, Paris won the French Court of Cassation’s approval of these restrictions, which issued a ruling that the restrictions did not violate European law. The French capital will host the 2024 Summer Olympics, during which accommodation prices are expected to rise.

“The city’s arsenal of rules” “is working, there have been fewer violations,” the Paris municipality said in a statement, adding that the high number of disputes in 2021 and 2022 was caused by the fact that many cases were suspended pending an EU decision.

But in Romania, the fiscal measures negotiated by the executive in Bucharest on fees and taxes are being criticized. Tourism officials say the increase in tourism taxes will be reflected in higher prices, which will limit consumption and put Romania in third place in Europe for VAT, after Denmark and Great Britain.

Industry professionals agree that tourism will change. While the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a sharp reduction in the number of tourists, the sector is now approaching pre-pandemic levels, and with it, it is also facing new challenges. The impact of climate change, the need to increase the sustainability of the sector and finding solutions to the problem of overtourism will keep the sector on top.