Due to climate change, traditional tourist destinations may no longer be as attractive.

After several years of disruption due to the Covid pandemic, people’s holiday season is coming back. In the year 2022, about four billion passengers boarded international flights, whereas in 2020, two billion passengers traveled on international flights. Recent research suggests that people may continue to travel into 2023 and beyond. However, this increase in travel is worrying. The tourism sector alone is responsible for an estimated 8-10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Due to the scorching heat, conditions at traditional holiday destinations are becoming more unpleasant. Over the past year, several climate records were broken as heat waves and wildfires devastated large parts of Europe, Asia and North America.

In July, temperatures in both Sardinia and Sicily exceeded 46 °C, almost breaking European records. Much of what we do while on vacation, especially abroad, results in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, which ultimately impacts the climate. However, the way most of us get there, by air, is potentially the most harmful. UK data shows that a single passenger on a short-haul flight is responsible for emissions of around 154g of carbon dioxide equivalent for every kilometer travelled. As the effects of climate change become more severe, there is real concern that traditional destinations will become so hot in the summer that they will no longer be as attractive to visitors.

This raises the question: how will tourism adapt? Changing Destinations Researchers have been trying to predict the future of tourism for quite some time. One idea is that tourism will change radically as global warming causes temperatures to rise not only in traditionally hot areas, but also in places to the north and south. A 2007 modeling study predicted that, by 2050, warmer weather would make popular tourist destinations such as the Mediterranean Sea less attractive in the summer. Nearly half of global tourism is concentrated in coastal areas. Another concern is the potential loss of beaches due to rising sea levels.

In the Caribbean region, an estimated 29 percent of resort properties would be partially or completely submerged by a one meter sea level rise. However, before then many of these resorts will lose a significant part of their coastline. Some other beach sites are potentially at even greater risk. Sardinia was hit by disruptive storms in 2022. Research suggests that beaches there may struggle to accommodate tourists in the near future due to greater risk of floods and storms. The impact of climate change on tourism will extend beyond coastal areas. There is a possibility of more extreme heat in many popular cities in Portugal, including Porto. Tourism in mountain areas will also be affected, as rapid snow melting will shorten the ski season.

What will happen next year? The current thinking among tourism academics is that those responsible for managing tourism destinations should work towards reducing carbon emissions by focusing on the domestic market. However, as recent summers have shown, the pace of international tourism does not appear to be slowing down just yet. The emerging landscape of global tourism is complex in the face of climate change. However, it is clear that if summer-like weather conditions continue in Europe in 2023, many people will think twice about vacationing there.

Disclaimer: IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.

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