Climate change has played a devastating role in a summer of extreme heat across the globe, crippling tourism in European holiday spots.
This week, wildfires on three Greek islands saw the evacuation of around 20,000 people and tourists.
Many were left stranded, passport-less, cash-strapped and without a flight home for days.
Post COVID, European destinations have enjoyed a huge influx of tourists but recent disasters have shown what can go wrong when tragedy hits.
Scientists say that unless immediate action is taken on rising temperatures, holiday destinations known and loved around the world could be forever changed.
Average temperatures are currently estimated to have risen more than 1.1 degrees Celsius.
Professor in sustainable tourism at Griffith University Susanne Becken said as more climate change-induced disasters happen, tourists will be forced to alter plans.
“I think it’s a wake-up call for tourists and I would think about where I’d go and I think more and more people who watch the news will consider that,” she said.
Worried about how you can plan your holiday amid these challenging times?
Here’s how you can protect yourself.
Do your research
Professor Sara Dolnicar is a lecturer in marketing and tourism at the University of Queensland.
She said travellers need to consider climate risks when taking a trip.
“These are happening in wider ranges of areas than we’ve ever seen before,” she said.
But she said most holiday-makers were simply not thinking about these risks when booking trips.
“The time where tourists just pick off what looks pretty is possibly gone,” she said.
“Thinking about things like if there’s flood risk, is the hotel in a low-lying area — but people want to pick a hotel on if it has a nice pool.”
“It’s all good in theory but tourists don’t think like that.”
She said taking a cautious approach during the planning stage was worth it.
“Research it, wherever you choose to go, it doesn’t take much time to find out,” she said.
“There has to be some responsibility of the tourists.”
Read government advice
The Australian government’s Smartraveller website regularly updates risk assessments for destinations.
There is also a section for advice specifically related to climate and natural disasters.
It publishes resources on local laws, advice for health and where to get consular assistance if you lose your passport or become stranded.
Tourists are advised to check the Smartraveller site if any natural disasters are place at the destination to which they are travelling, and to contact their tourism provider before leaving to see if it will be affected.
“Imagine being stuck in Rhodes right now. They can’t actually bring a helicopter and fly you out so there’s an immediate emergency situation where you need to be aware of local emergency services to help you,” Professor Dolnicar said.
Get insured
Professor Dolnicar said digging into the fine print of your travel insurance policy would prevent a “double disaster”.
“Often they don’t have a tick box for natural disasters, and you’ve got to go into the fine print to look at the explicit parts of insurance,” she said.
“The insurer can’t change a fire or flood but at least insurance can help you with the fallout of being stuck and extra expenses because you’re stuck for an extra week or need an extra flight.”
She believes that as climate-induced disasters increase, insurers will offer additional coverage.
“It could be similar to what we saw with COVID,” she said.
“For a long time COVID was excluded on travel insurance but now it’s not a problem — you can find an insurer that covers that but it’s your responsibility.”
Most insurers will define natural disasters in their terms, so start by reading the policy and checking you’re covered for all likely scenarios in the chosen destination.
Know your policy
Even if you are insured, it can be voided, especially if you book the holiday knowing a disaster is already unfolding at the location.
Head of marketing for NIB Travel Ali Diaper said if you’re unsure, you should always contact your insurer before leaving to check terms of coverage.
“The first thing is look after yourself, think first,” she said.
The advice is to book insurance before flights.
If it’s a known event, it could be an exclusion of a policy.
“Our policies do provide cover if you purchase a policy before [the] event began,” she said.
“It’s not recommended to get travel insurance retrospectively.”
Travel in off-season
Professor Becken believes this year’s events are likely to drive more popularity of cooler, shoulder seasons (June to September) in traditional European summer destinations.
Even though temperatures are rising in cooler destinations too, she thinks people will much prefer those destinations to extreme heat.
“What we might see is people who traditionally go in search for warm weather they might change,” she said.
Professor Dolnicar said people won’t summer in Europe if temperatures continue to rise.
“It’s a really interesting point in history because climate change has been discussed for a long time but almost exclusively in terms of winter resorts,” she said.
“The concerns climate change will ensure less snow and therefore threaten existence but only now realisation has come it’s not just winter resorts.
“Half the UK migrates to Spain in summer — who wants to go to Spain when its 46 degrees Celsius?”
Don’t rely on local help
Greek efforts to evacuate 20,000 people from the island this week wasn’t easy.
Professor Becken said it’s important to read up on what to do if a disaster strikes as locals will be struggling to cope themselves.
“It’s absolutely important people do their own planning; you can’t rely on a destination being prepared … even locals are often not handling the heat,” she said.
She said contingency plans by governments for tourists affected by adverse weather events need improving.
“That thinking isn’t as advanced as it should be,” she said.
“But increasingly as companies, destinations, people, pay for impact of disruption, that will change and we will have to plan for contingencies.”