World’s climate change crisis has tourists seeking ‘coolcations’

Record heat waves, blazing wildfires and oppressive humidity are transforming the world’s tourism industry as holidaymakers struggle to deal with the havoc wreaked by climate change. 

That has resulted in a growing number looking beyond traditional hot spots such as Greece and Portugal in favour of “coolcations” – visiting parts of the world that offer milder climes. Already, nearly half of Virtuoso’s luxury travel advisers say their clients are altering plans due to climate change. 

Heatwaves in Europe caused tourist sites, including the Acropolis in Athens and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, to shut this summer, and the region is tipped to experience a widening tourism divide due to the uneven impact of climate change.

Its northern coastal regions are likely to have a more than 5 per cent increase in demand during summer and early autumn, while parts of its south will lose almost 10 per cent of summer tourists, according to a European Commission study.

The trend is likely to be replicated around the world. 

Dangerously high temperatures have driven down visitor numbers at Tokyo Disney Resort. US theme park operator Six Flags Entertainment said severe weather, including heatwaves, drove a nearly US$100 million (S$129 million) loss in the second quarter as it reduced revenue outlook. Meanwhile, places such as Antarctica, Norway and Iceland have seen their popularity boom. 

From ice parks to green oases in city centres, here is how the world is trying to help tourists beat the heat.

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is mixing ancient practices and cutting-edge technology to combat extreme heat that caused daytime temperatures to soar to 51.8 deg C earlier in August – a near record.

Its Masdar City is one of the world’s most sustainable cities, with the majority of its energy needs generated by solar panels on roofs and an on-site photovoltaic plant that offsets about 15,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year. 

As well as cutting-edge technology, Masdar has sought to modernise the traditional barjeel wind tunnel that funnels breezes into the city’s centre. Its narrow, shaded streets also create a microclimate that is several degrees cooler than surrounding areas, and buildings are oriented to maximise shade. 

The United Arab Emirates calls Masdar City, which is about 110km from Dubai, a template for sustainable urban development and is a core part of the country’s longer-term goals to diversify its economy away from oil. 

Harbin

While China’s southern metropolises swelter, the northern city of Harbin is emerging as a temperate summer-time getaway. Best known for frigid winters when temperatures drop to as low as minus 25 deg C, the city is now bringing its signature winter ice festival to the hotter months. 

Harbin Ice and Snow World, the world’s largest winter theme park, allows tourists to wander through ice sculptures in its expansive indoor facility. The attraction’s advance snow-making technology can make it snow outside even in temperatures that exceed 20 deg C, according to Xinhua News Agency. 

The city is representative of the lopsided economic impact of climate change, as areas buffeted by increasingly frequent heatwaves lose out on tourist dollars and cooler regions benefit from an influx in visitors. A study of 280 Chinese cities found that for every 1 deg C rise in temperature, domestic tourism revenue slipped by 6 per cent. 

China’s national weather service offers a guide to 16 major “heat-escaping” routes, while online tour agencies Fliggy and Trip.com sell packages to cooler destinations, such as Harbin and the grasslands of Inner Mongolia.

Sapporo

While heady summer humidity hangs over most of Japan, Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido, is an increasingly popular coolcation escape. 

Its milder temperatures offer respite, but Sapporo’s unique heat mitigation strategy is something that harnesses its most abundant resource: snow. The city has rolled out a system, including at the famed Moerenuma art park and malls, that melts snow stored over the winter and uses the chilled water in air-conditioning systems. 

Copenhagen

While parts of Europe are rocked by anti-tourism protests, Copenhagen is rewarding visitors for climate-friendly actions.

Its CopenPay programme offers free excursions and discounts to travellers who take the train to the city and stay longer, in an effort to reduce transportation emissions. 

Copenhagen’s three billion Danish kroner (S$602 million) effort to clean up its harbour is also bearing fruit, and its public baths have gone viral on social media. In July, the city opened its first open-water swimming lane – a 450m course with buoys and ropes.

Away from the waterfront, the city’s Cloudburst Management plan has created a network of parks and public squares that temporarily hold and absorb rainwater during heavy storms. These spaces act as natural cooling hubs, as the water and vegetation work to lower temperatures.

Paris

Paris disappointed visitors when it closed the Eiffel Tower during the recent July heatwave, and temperatures are once again topping 40 deg C in August.

The city is combating the extreme heat by creating more than 800 “cool islands” – parks, forests, swimming pools and museums – along shaded walkways to offer tourists respite. An interactive app, Extrema, guides users to the nearest cool spaces. 

It has also rolled out “oasis squares” across the city’s 20 arrondissements that include trees, water fountains and shaded gazebos, and is aiming to replace about 60,000 parking spaces with trees by 2030.

Perhaps the most high-profile change is to allow swimming in the Seine River for the first time in a century, following about €1.4 billion (S$2.1 billion) of sewer upgrades. The city has imposed limits though: the three bathing sites are open only between July 5 and Aug 31.

Singapore

Singapore’s Supertrees are a major tourist draw, but they also play an important role as the city’s “green lung”.

The concrete structures that stretch as high as 50m serve a variety of purposes from vertical gardens to rainfall collectors, while air intake and exhaust towers help control temperatures at the sprawling Gardens by the Bay complex. 

Singapore has also adopted designs that use porous pavements and green spaces to absorb rainwater and keep the city cooler. It also deploys Airbitat systems in public spaces and at events such as the Singapore Grand Prix. The systems are designed to be 80 per cent more energy efficient than conventional air-conditioning units.

Phoenix

One of America’s hottest cities, Phoenix, Arizona, has become a global leader in urban cooling. 

Its Cool Pavement programme has coated more than 225km of streets with a light-coloured, solar-reflective material that lowers surface temperatures, offering much needed reprieve in the city that in 2024 had 113 consecutive days of highs reaching at least 37.7 deg C.

Still, there is one major trade off: research shows the reflecting coating can make people standing on the treated pavement feel even hotter. 

Phoenix also steers tourists into safer activities during times of extreme heat by shutting hiking trails, but facilitating tubing and kayaking on the Salt River. The Desert Botanical Garden offers torch tours after dark, while dozens of public splash pads provide free water play well into the evening. BLOOMBERG