July this year has shown with its hot temperatures that it has become the hottest month on record for weather in the Mediterranean. This climate extreme could have severe implications for tourism, and August, heralding similarly high temperatures, exacerbates this situation. In response to such an atmosphere, European vacationers are massively reoriented from the traditional resorts of the Mediterranean to the northern regions of Europe. Events related to the fires on the island of Rhodes only pushed this trend. Even the cunning insurance offered by insurance companies to protect against the heat cannot save demand from a decline. In general, climate experts worry that we are seeing the end of the era of traditional European tourism.
Leading meteorological organizations, including the World Meteorological Organization and the EU Copernicus Climate Change Service, announced that July was the hottest month on record. Scientists warn that as global temperatures rise, profound changes are expected in the form of floods, large-scale forest fires, and other extreme weather events that will threaten people’s lives. All this is inevitably reflected in the popular resorts of the Mediterranean.
If a few years ago Turkey was faced with the negative consequences of powerful fires, now Greece, especially the island of Rhodes, has become the focus of attention. This island is trying to recover from the devastating fires that engulfed it for 11 days in July.
Severe fires, timed to coincide with the peak tourist season, have hurt the tourism industry, which makes up a significant part of the economy of Rhodes and about 20% of the entire economy of Greece. Data from international research company Forward Keys shows that the number of canceled flights to Rhodes in the last week of July exceeded the number of bookings made on the island during the same period in 2019. Tour operators are trying to restore bookings, but even the German company TUI has expressed concern, saying that the refusal of tourists to travel to Rhodes after the fires could lead to additional negative consequences for residents.
Despite efforts, the entire Mediterranean region was affected, with an area of 350 square kilometers reduced to ashes by fires that engulfed Greece, Italy, Algeria, and Tunisia.
In addition, after hurricane winds and downpours, which also left their mark in some European countries, the Mediterranean is preparing for a new wave of heat. Hotels in the resorts are not thrilled by this prospect. The owners of hotels in Benidorm, a well-known place in the southeast of Spain, popular with the British and Scandinavians, expressed their concerns. Antonio Mayor, head of the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Region of Valencia, stressed that the repetition of such a situation every summer could seriously affect the region’s economy, focused on the summer months. Experts also note an increase in demand for less hot and safer destinations in Northern Europe.
Insurers have come up with another approach to bailing out tourism: Sensible Weather, an American company, has developed an insurance policy that will compensate people whose vacations have been affected by the heatwave. They also plan to add a new option next summer, providing an opportunity to receive compensation if temperatures become unacceptably high. However, even such measures may not be able to prevent tourists from leaving traditional resorts out of fear and discontent.