It was mid-July, the peak of the summer travel season, and the news from Europe didn’t look good.surface defectshas temporarily closed runways at London’s Luton Airport. Trains were delayed or canceled across Britain as the tracks overheated. Over 20 weather stations in france record high temperature. Wildfires have raged in tourist destinations in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, including just outside Athens.
“If you were in the center of town, you could see the Acropolis and see the red haze in the distance,” said Peter Britas, executive vice president of Internova Travel Group. Told. The wildfire was then put out by firefighters.
Mr Brittas added that he smelled smoke from his hotel and had to close the door to prevent fine ash from being blown into the room. But his life in Athens was pretty much business as usual, he said.
“Taverns are full at night and taxi drivers are busy, which is always a big barometer,” said Britas, who is still in Athens. “Greece, like the rest of Europe, is experiencing record numbers of tourists.”
After delaying vacations for more than two years, travelers are reluctant to cancel trips in the face of headline-grabbing weather. However, some people in the industry are adjusting their plans to account for the high temperatures, swapping destinations, rescheduling during the day, and delaying trips by a month or two. He says the number is increasing.
Given the pace and trajectory of climate change, such changes are likely to become more prevalent and more necessary in the years to come. Especially when traveling to Europe. explained As a “hot spot” in the intense summer heat, they predict Future heat waves will be longer, more frequent and more intense.
Despite this summer’s high tourist numbers, there are already subtle signs that the heat has caused a change that could become the norm in the future. As it begins to stretch into the quieter (and cooler) months of May, May, September and October, many travelers are beginning to shift their itineraries north and towards the coast.
change itinerary
Senior Vice President and General Manager Karen Magee said: from experience I knowher travel agency began receiving calls from customers starting in mid-July asking if their travel plans could be adjusted to account for the heat.
“It was fresh,” Maggie said. “I can’t remember the last time people called me and said, ‘Maybe I’ll skip Rome and pick a city with more beach access.’ They may have shortened it and decided to enter the country a little earlier than planned.”
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Founder Drev Azaria azalea travel, I helped a family make the last-minute choice to spend the first five days of their vacation in Amsterdam instead of Rome to avoid the heat. Other clients scrapped plans to Tuscany and rebooked to at least Mediterranean windswept Sicily.
“The goal is to get clients out of the heat-trapped city and around the waterfront,” says Azaria. “So places like Copenhagen and Amsterdam have emerged, probably places our clients didn’t choose to go to in the first place.”
But Azaria says there are no outright cancellations so far. Basically, this summer condenses her two-year journey. “
For next year, Azaria plans to extend the summer travel season.
Travelers who might consider travel relief due to extreme heat may find that cancellation policies leave little chance of a refund. Pyxis GuideI was worried about the heat on a family trip to Portugal, but I put up with it after all.
“They were worried about their children being outside,” said Vargas. “But the cancellation policy made them realize, ‘OK, we’re committed.'”
Even travel insurance is unlikely to cover travelers who cancel trips due to heatwaves, says Dan Drennen. Travel insurance center. The only policy that applies in such scenarios is insurance that “cancels for any reason,” Drennen said. He added that this type of insurance typically costs about 40% more than normal coverage and typically reimburses up to 75% of the total cost of the trip. He advised travelers to do their research and talk to brokers before buying insurance to understand what is covered and what is not.
“People think these policies are a panacea, but they’re not,” Drennen said.
road adjustment
Those who are keen to travel can take some practical steps to manage the heat. Vargas has helped customers change afternoon tours to cooler evening hours, but this travel season is so busy it can be difficult to find a last-minute spot. She also recommends carrying a spray bottle with her fan attached. It’s a portable device she described as “a saving grace, especially if you have kids.” Having an umbrella to use as shade also helps. She’s focusing on months like May and October as she looks ahead to her next year’s trip.
Héctor Coronel Gutierrez, director of tourism at Madrid City Council, urges visitors to his city in high summer to seek out green spaces such as Madrid Rio Park, which has many shaded areas and fountain areas for children to play. advised. Splash into the water. He added that while July and August are hot, the city tends to be quieter than in May and June, so it’s easier to avoid the crowds.
And while air conditioning is easy to find in Spain, visitors from the US may find the building warmer than it used to be.Earlier this week, the Spanish government announced that in shopping centers, cinemas, airports and other venues to reduce energy consumption, no longer allowed Set the thermostat below 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Still, travel writer and tour operator Rick Steveswho recently returned from Spain, said that summer travelers may actually feel more comfortable in Madrid than in cities such as London, Paris or Frankfurt.
“A place like Spain that is accustomed to extreme heat has a corresponding lifestyle. There are naps, canvas shades on the sidewalks, shade while people are walking around. We have restaurants that are designed so that you can eat in an airy area,” Steves said.
In addition to practical measures like applying sunscreen and drinking plenty of water, Steves urged travelers to book museum tickets in advance to avoid waiting in line in the heat. advised to When planning future trips, he, like Vargas, recommended that people consider traveling in “shoulder season.”
Pointing to the irony of travelers complaining about rising temperatures while hopping on carbon-intensive flights to Europe, Steves said: “To survive the worsening effects of climate change, This is an adjustment period.” He suggested carbon offsets, but experts generally agree that these programs alone cannot fully cover the carbon costs of flights.
Even if we stopped emitting all greenhouse gases today, some additional warming would already be built into the system. World Resources Institutea Washington, D.C.-based think tank But we haven’t stopped emitting a greenhouse gas: carbon dioxide emissions It is risingand the earth is warming faster than ever before.
Dr. Carter said this summer’s extreme heat was “not a fluke,” but rather “the beginning of a trend that we’re likely to see more of in the future.”
European field evidence is clear: in the UK, the hottest decade on record (back to 1884) all happened into this century. In Germany, there is a trend in the annual average number of “hot days” (days with temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher). significantly higher From the 1950’s. And in France, scientists say the average temperature in the northeastern city of Strasbourg is now roughly equivalent To what was seen in Lyon, about 240 miles south-southwest, in the 1970s.
Dr. Carter added that climate change will continue to occur in the form of heat waves and other extreme weather events, many of which will disrupt travel logistics. (She pointed out that the plane has not been proven to fly above a certain temperature, a limit that has already stopped flights in the past.)
“Among the long list of factors we all go through in deciding where to go, when to go, and whether to go, weather and climate change should be part of the calculation,” Dr. Carter said. Told.
