The topic of global warming and its impact on tourism reached Turkey from the Davos summit. Local experts of the Climate Policy Research Center of Bogazici University said that in such a distant perspective, vacationing in Antalya will become dangerous for tourists. They also proved when and where the country’s main resort should be moved to save tourism. Moreover, they assure that everything will happen in the not-so-distant future.
The study, conducted by Nazan An, a researcher at Bogazici University’s Science Policy Research Center, looked at how climate change and global warming will affect tourism between 2026 and 2050. The main conclusion is as follows: the Mediterranean heat will reach a level that will threaten human health. As a result, the climate crisis will force resorts in Turkey to move to the Black Sea.
As explained by another researcher of the Climate Policy Research Center of Bogazici University, Mustafa Tufan Turp, the temperature in Turkey has already reached a level that affects health. “For example, in summer in Istanbul, we face temperatures exceeding 20 degrees, even at night. Heat waves in the Mediterranean region are now life-threatening! – he assured. As a result, researchers are sure that the climate crisis shortly will force tourism to move to the northern coasts, that is, the Black Sea, and businesses should prepare.
“In our research, we explored the Black Sea coast as an alternative tourist destination. The summer and winter seasons in the Black Sea region differ from each other, and the climate here is unique. “The reason we are looking at this region is that visitor comfort has started to decrease due to climate change in our now popular coastal regions,” the scientists explained.
They stated that the study looked at several parameters, including thermal comfort. “In addition to the normal temperature, we took into account the influence of the earth, daily precipitation, wind speed in kilometers, and the size of clouds. In making these calculations, we looked at whether a person’s comfort was unsafe, unacceptable, acceptable, optimal, or ideal. After these calculations, we came to the conclusion that the Black Sea coast of Turkey can provide the necessary level of comfort for visitors in the summer season,” they said.