Pirate's Cove

Question: why are people taking vacations in the first place to the Med? That requires a fossil fueled trip and uses lots of energy to house them and let them have fun. They should all just stay home

Is this the end of the Mediterranean beach holiday?

The holiday apartment in Alicante, Spain, has been a fixture of Lori Zaino’s in-laws’ family since her husband’s grandparents purchased it in the 1970s. As a baby, it’s where her husband took his first steps; he and Zaino have spent their summer holidays there almost every year for the last 16 years – now with a toddler in tow. Their families may look different each time they go, but each visit, year after year, has delivered everything they wanted from a Mediterranean summer holiday: sun, sand and plenty of beach time.

Until this year. A heat wave scorched southern Europe during their mid-July holiday, with temperatures of 46C and 47C in cities including Madrid, Seville and Rome. In Alicante, temperatures hit 39C, though the humidity made it feel hotter, Zaino says. A red-alert weather warning was issued. Palm trees toppled from water loss. (snip)

These events aren’t just inconvenient or uncomfortable. They can be deadly. In Spain, nearly 1,000 people died in eight days of the July 2023 heatwave. The total human cost of Europe’s summer 2023 heatwaves has not yet been calculated. But summer 2022 – which was similarly scorching – led to a loss of more than 60,000 lives.

Against such a backdrop, there’s another loss that might seem far less important – but is a poignant reminder of how climate change is reshaping both our everyday and economic realities: the effect on the Mediterranean summer holiday.

Tourists have flocked to the Mediterranean for summer holidays for centuries. In ancient Roman times, those with means headed to Baiae, a resort town on the Bay of Naples, or to Greek islands (one particularly famous couple that seemed to have greatly enjoyed their visit to Samos was Antony and Cleopatra). Even today, the idea of lolling around on a sun-soaked coast attracts millions of tourists to countries like Greece, Spain and Italy each summer.

But that could be changing. A recent report by the European Travel Commission (ETC) found that Mediterranean countries remain the most popular destination for Europeans for June to November 2023. Still, compared to last year, the number of European tourists interested in going to Mediterranean countries has dropped 10%. Many travellers, meanwhile, are shifting their holiday dates: 5% more are opting for the “shoulder season” of October and November versus in 2022.

It couldn’t have anything to do with a crummy economy, especially post-Wuhan flu, could it?

While “economic factors are having a significant impact”, said Eduardo Santander, the ETC’s executive director, “unease about weather conditions is also influencing where Europeans choose to go on holiday”. The ETC’s research found that nearly 8% of travellers specifically mentioned “extreme weather events” as their primary concern about travelling in Europe from June to November 2023.

So, yeah, mostly the crap economy.

Meanwhile, other destinations are reaping benefits. More summer travellers are opting for destinations with milder temperatures like the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Ireland and Denmark, Santander says. The coastal British region of Cornwall, famed for its beaches and ocean views, has seen an uptick in visitors from countries like Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, according to Malcolm Bell, executive chair of Visit Cornwall. “We believe it’s partly driven by the cooler climate, [which] makes walking and cycling delightful rather than a sweat,” he said.

The climate changes. That’s what happens. When the climate flips to a cool period people will want to go further south, if they like warmth. Things change. But, this is a doomsday cult which thinks that things should never change.

BTW, yes, there are mako sharks in the Med. The longfin mako, which grows to 14 feet. There are also hammerheads, blue sharks, blacktip sharks, dusky sharks, and great whites, all which can be dangerous to humans. Though, you won’t see this in travel brochures for the Med.