Warnings of Soaring Heat in Europe – Travel Businesses Begin to Adapt
Photo Credit: Istanbul, Turkey is among the regions facing more nights with temperatures above 20°C. Lilia, Unsplashed
Skift Take
Travel businesses in southern Europe need to adapt to unbearable heat. They're trying earlier tours, shorter seasons, shifting destinations.
‘Tropical nights,’ where temperatures don’t dip below 20 degrees Celsius (68 F) - have become increasingly common in Europe because of climate change, according to an EU report released on Tuesday.
Tourism destinations including Italy, Croatia, Greece, Spain and Turkey experienced a record 23 ‘tropical nights’ in 2024, according to the data from EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
That’s nearly three times the long-term average of just eight nights and well above the previous record of 16 in 2012.
“The tropical nights in Dubrovnik hardly dipped below 27 last summer for a long period. Some nights were 30 degrees. It was awful,” said Ivan Vukovic, owner of Dubrovnik Tours in the city.
He said he had to shift tours earlier in the morning to avoid dangerous heat.
“When it’s that hot, I do early bird tours, before 8 in the morning. It’s hard in the evening as
