Tourism

Key messages

Tourism is highly climate-sensitive and depends on other sectors, including water, transport, health, agriculture, biodiversity and disaster risk management. Adaptation therefore requires cooperation across sectors and between public authorities, destinations and tourism businesses.
Climate change is already affecting tourism destinations and activities across Europe. Heatwaves, droughts and water scarcity, wildfires, flooding, coastal erosion and declining snow cover can damage infrastructure, affect natural and cultural attractions and increase risks for visitors. The first European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) identifies winter tourism as a major climate risk, particularly for lower-altitude destinations and parts of central and southern Europe.
Adaptation can help destinations prepare for changing conditions. Measures include diversifying tourism activities and seasons, improving water efficiency and drought preparedness, adapting facilities and public spaces to heat, strengthening preparedness for wildfires and floods, protecting and restoring ecosystems, and making tourism infrastructure and transport connections more climate resilient. Some destinations may also benefit from longer seasons or increasing demand for cooler locations.
EU initiatives provide a framework and support for more resilient tourism. The Tourism Transition Pathway supports the green and digital transition and long-term resilience of the tourism ecosystem, alongside amongst others the EU Adaptation Strategy, Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Water Framework Directive and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. EU programmes can support sustainable and resilient tourism through regional development, research and innovation and cross-border cooperation. The Guide on EU funding for tourism helps stakeholders identify relevant opportunities.
European knowledge supports better-informed adaptation. Climate-ADAPT provides access to climate data, indicators, adaptation options and case studies, while Copernicus climate services and the EU Tourism Dashboard provide complementary information to help destinations understand changing conditions and vulnerabilities.

Why climate change adaptation matters for the Tourism sector

Since weather and climate have a decisive influence on the travel season and the choice of holiday destinations, the tourism industry is highly dependent on them. Natural resources (e.g. snow, clean water, forests) and tourism, as well as cultural heritage and tourism are strongly connected. Climate change reduces snow cover, increases and prolongs heat waves, increases the occurrence of wildfires, and changes rainfall patterns. Tourism is also one of the sectors affected by increasing water scarcity in southern Europe.

Winter tourism has been identified as a major risk in the first EUCRA , in particular for destinations at low altitude, and in central and southern Europe.

Heat stress can lower the attractiveness of southern Europe as a summer destination. Seasonal shifts are possible but require flexibility from both tourists and service providers. Stresses for tourism can also result from a change in biological conditions, especially due to an increase in harmful insects or algae growth in warming waters, and to the spread of neophytes and allergenic plants.

Tourism might also benefit from climate change. For example, higher (and thus cooler) areas might profit from increasing number of tourists avoiding hot cities.