The past July turned out to be the hottest in the entire history of meteorological observations in the Mediterranean, and for tourism, it can turn out to have dramatic consequences. Moreover, August also promises to break a similar record. As a result, European tourists began to massively reorient themselves from the resorts of the Mediterranean to rest in Northern Europe. And the horrors of burned Rhodes only encouraged this trend. And even the clever heat insurance invented by insurance companies is not helping to restore demand. In general, climate experts fear that we are living witnesses to the fading of an entire era: the usual tourism in Europe is gradually coming to an end…
July was the hottest month on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization and the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. “Scientists say that as the planet heats up, changes such as floods, long-lasting forest fires and extreme weather events that threaten human life are expected in the future,” the European press quoted their statements as saying. Of course, all this cannot fail to hurt tourism in the most popular Mediterranean basin.
If a few years ago Turkey experienced the negative effects of powerful fires, now the main “hero” has become Greece, or rather the island of Rhodes, which is trying to heal its wounds after 11 days of devastating July fires. “Fires coinciding with the middle of the tourist season hurt the tourism sector, which is based on the major part of the economy of Rhodes and about 20% of the entire economy of Greece,” experts assure. They even provide interesting numbers: according to the international research company Forward Keys, the number of flight cancellations to Rhodes in the last week of July exceeded all bookings made on the island during the same period of 2019. Tour operators, however, say they are gradually trying to resume bookings, and Germany’s TUI even said: “If tourists don’t go to Rhodes after the wildfires, we will cause more damage to the people of Rhodes.”
However, the disaster remains a disaster – 350 square meters in the Mediterranean turned into ashes—kilometers of territory. Fires raged in Greece, Italy, Algeria, and Tunisia, and a total of 350 square kilometers were destroyed.
Meanwhile, after hurricane-force winds and downpours, which also “walked” through some European countries, severe heat is expected again in the Mediterranean. And hotels in resorts are not happy for her. Thus, the owners of hotels in Benidorm, a resort town in the southeast of Spain, popular with the English and Scandinavians, shared their fears. As Antonio Mayor, president of the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Region of Valencia, said: “If this situation is repeated every summer, it will affect our economy. Our activities are focused on the three summer months.” Experts also note an explosive growth in demand for safer and less hot destinations in Northern Europe – this was stated in particular by Tim Hentschel, CEO of the HotelPlanner tourist platform.
Another way to save tourism was offered by insurers — the American company Sensible Weather developed insurance to compensate people whose vacations were affected by extreme heat. The insurer plans to add a “temperature protection” option next summer, company founder Nick Cavanaugh said: “Simply put, if you can’t go outside for three hours in 42-degree midday, we can give you some money back,” he explained. principle of insurance. However, there is a big chance that this “little money” will not save traditional tourism from frightened tourists.