2024-07-11 20:24:00
Climate change is beginning to pose a major threat to one of the most important industries in the countries of the European South, including Greece, the tourism industry. Traditionally the most popular tourist destinations are facing heatwaves and widespread destructive fires. The blow is crucial for our country which was again forced this year to close its most important tourist attraction, the Acropolis, during lunch hours to protect tourists. These conditions discourage tourists who are beginning to turn en masse to the countries of the North and especially to Scandinavia.
These countries of the European North, once unthinkable as summer holiday destinations, are now attracting those looking for a cool retreat while being touted as a new trend with listings in lifestyle magazines. Thus, last year the travel and tourism industry in Scandinavia as a whole added an estimated 124 billion dollars to the economy of the countries of the region, marking an increase of about 6% compared to the previous year. Speaking to Bloomberg, businesses in the Nordic countries, from travel agencies to holiday souvenir shops, predicted that this year will set a record for tourism in the region. Misty Belles, spokeswoman for a network of about 20,000 luxury vacation consultants, said “it’s Scandinavia time.” He even cited the 27% jump in bookings this year compared to last summer. As he pointed out, only Sweden has recorded a real jump of 47% in bookings when in the same time period Italy has recorded an increase in bookings of only 3%. After all, according to the travel website navigation engine KAYAK, equally impressive are the double-digit growth rates recorded by flight searches from UK airports to Copenhagen, Bergen, Norway and Stockholm all this summer. As Bloomberg points out, relevant research conducted by companies on behalf of the E.U. demonstrate that global warming is likely to cause a tectonic shift in travel and tourism. In the most worrying scenario in which the average temperature rise is four degrees Celsius, demand for holidays and tourism in Greece could fall by more than 7% compared to 2019. And at the same time, demand for holidays in Sweden, Denmark and Finland may increase by 6%.
The coolness of these countries lends itself to activities in the area. One can spend a really cool week on the coast of Denmark, the best of which rival the Mediterranean countries. Most visitors, however, come to the area to hike in its beautiful nature and see the reindeer but above all to see the Northern Lights. At the same time, winter tourism in the Scandinavian countries is also increasing, because the rise in temperature has deprived the famous Alps of snow.
A survey by the company VisitDenmark among 9,000 people in seven European countries showed that almost half of Europeans have faced some extreme weather during their holidays in the past year. And the most important finding was that two-thirds of the respondents said that they intend to change their behavior because of what has happened to them. This may mean that they will plan their trips at other times of the year, or that they will switch to different destinations, or they may even limit their travel abroad.
Source kathimerini.gr