European tourists to head north to dodge heat; travel season could shift amid climate change

LONDON - Tourists and tour operators are expected to head to northern Europe in future after a summer of

crippling heatwaves hit southern Europe,

leaving travellers to wonder if cooler temperatures might suit them better.

The Mediterranean region has remained Europe’s most popular summer tourist spot.

But bookings to countries such as Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are on the rise compared with in 2022, according to Mastercard data.

Factors such as cheaper airfares and weaker currencies in Scandinavia could play a role.

But one of the world’s biggest tour operators, TUI, said on Wednesday that climate change will also drive more tourists northwards.

The firm could see its travel season shift to start earlier in the spring and end in autumn, TUI’s chief executive Sebastian Ebel told reporters. It could also offer more holidays to the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, Poland and Belgium, he said.

“We will go into Greece to middle of November, and I actually asked my colleagues, maybe we should open it until the end of the year, until or after Christmas,” Mr Ebel told a media call.

“It gives us more opportunities for growth.”

Mr Ebel was speaking after TUI announced it could face €25 million (S$37 million) in costs tied to wildfires in Rhodes, Greece.

Tour operators in places like northern Norway also see an increased demand.

The regional tourist information for Vesteraalen, an island district in northern Norway, said it had guests from central and southern Europe who came to Norway to escape the heatwave.

This has resulted in more direct flight routes to northern Norway being created, it said.

Mr Fabio Scaglione and Mr Diego Bruno visited Stockholm from Turin in Italy last week with around 20 others in a trip organised by an Italian travel agency.

“Last year, we went to the south of Spain and it was very hot; this year, we decided to go to a cooler place,” Mr Bruno said.

Ms Heather Storgaard, a Scottish tourist, planned her summer vacation this year in Denmark, with a stop in northern Germany. The hot weather has prevented her from going south for the past five years, she said.

“Previously we’d been to France, Italy, your normal summer destinations, and we were getting to the point where I was actually feeling ill,” she said.

“Even Germany and Switzerland are too far south – that was last year’s attempt, and it was still far too hot.”

Ms Margit Wissenbach, a German living in Denmark, visited Sweden this year with the aim of hiking while also taking trips to cities such as Gothenburg.

She often travels to Italy for work but said she prefers the north for holidays. “I would rather walk around in the rain than in an oven,” she said. REUTERS