European Travel is Being Held Back by Climate Change

Climate change is a subject that few need an to. The world is continuing to see long-term changes in temperature and weather patterns, some of which are being driven by humans. The prevalent use of non-renewable energy has increased this shift in climate, forming new issues in other markets. One industry that is seeing new obstacles due to climate change is the .

Specifically in Europe, rising temperatures make traveling to specific areas in the summer . Europe is home to many of the most visited in the world, accounting for of total international arrivals with both London and Paris in the most visited cities. Travel is also important for the European Union's (EU) economy, making up .  In 2021, travel and tourism were responsible for around in Europe. As the world is reopening and the pandemic diminishes, the number of people traveling to Europe is , indicating a bright future for this important sector of Europe's economy.

Western Central Europe is one of the regions in the Northern Hemisphere that has faced extreme heat, water shortages, and dry soil conditions in the . in France, the worst the EU has seen in centuries, and record-breaking temperatures are all signaling climate change in the area. While Europe is working through an energy crisis, amenities such as are regulated by the EU. Some popular European destinations such as London do not have due to the historic architecture not needing it in the past, making it difficult to support travelers in need of this amenity. European flight companies including , , and are all having to cancel flights due to runways being too hot at the . As the temperatures in the continent continue to get harsher, tourists and the companies serving them have started to shift their ways of thinking about international travel.

Shifts in the travel industry can be seen at many levels. For one, the period when people are traveling is . The  is the month right outside the main window for travel that is becoming more stretched every year, and this used to consist of May and September. As people are planning their vacations for less intense temperatures, the shoulder of the is shifting towards April and October. When the temperatures rise, that people do less retail shopping while traveling, adding yet another consequence for the local businesses depending on these shoppers. 

While some people are choosing to travel at different times of the year, others are  to visit. One example is Iceland, which has seen a steady in the past 20 years. Jóhannes Þór Skúlasyn, the director of the Icelandic Tourism Association, says that  are needed to match the tourism growth. Iceland’s hotel industry is a of independent and chain hotels, making a change like this have varying impacts on these hotel operations. Companies like have received American investment during , assisting the brand in keeping up with capital and construction necessary to serve this tourism sector. Other countries are also following Iceland's path, with Sweden, Norway, and Ireland also seeing increased tourism over the .

While Europe is working on becoming carbon neutral, climate change will not stop without drastic change. Although the patterns in the European travel market are small at the moment, they are predicted to continue increasing . Whether it is Iceland creating more hotels or England working around the unusual temperature increases, the changes in European travel will be as the years and changing weather goes on.