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ECOCLUB, Issue 95
1988) with a combination of temperatures above 40 degrees C and poor air quality. In 1998 in Cyprus 45 deaths attributable to
heat were noted when the maximum temperature exceeded 40 degrees C on 8 successive days. In Athens the National Weather
Service of Greece forecasts heat wave emergencies and warnings which are disseminated to the public. Extreme heatwaves and
the deaths involved are frequently reported in the media of foreign countries and give a negative image to potential holiday-
makers. Emotive phrases like “killer heatwave” have been used. Even reports by reputable organizations can use hyperbole to
get their message across. The World Wild Fund For Nature reported that some tourist destinations could be turned into “holiday
horror stories”. It has to be remembered that holiday-makers from northern Europe will be unused to temperatures as high as 40
degrees C and may be more at risk than local people, who are used to long hot summers.
Gawith, et al (1999) have shown that at Thessaloniki in northern Greece the temperature-humidity index (THI) which assesses
the impact of high temperatures and humidity will rise above a value of 84 ( when nearly everyone feels uncomfortable) for
more than twice as long as at present by 2050. In addition there will be significant increases in the shoulder warm periods
suggesting a lengthening of the summer season. Forest fires, such as were very widespread in August 1994 in Tuscany, Corsica,
Sardinia and France can lead to evacuation from tourist facilities such as camp sites. Pinol, Terradas and Lloret (1998) found
that in coastal eastern Spain there has been increased fire activity and the number of days of very high fire risk is likely to
increase further since there is a correlation between summer heat and fire occurrence. In Italy a strong association has been
found between the number of forest fires and both higher summer temperatures and lower summer precipitation. Measures such
as the closure of forest and parkland in summer may become increasingly necessary.
The tourist industry is very vulnerable to natural disasters. The publicity given to heatwave deaths in Greece in summer 1998, if
repeated regularly, could act as a deterrent to tourism. In that year there were stories in the UK press of holidaymakers staying
in their hotel rooms to try to escape the intense heat on the beaches. Queues of Britons were reported at hospitals and
pharmacies suffering from heatstroke and burns while others cut short their holidays and returned home early. Rising mean
summer temperatures will inevitably be accompanied by more occasions of extreme maximum temperatures. Extreme weather
episodes are likely to have a stronger impact than average weather changes. Heat wave conditions are also implicated in the
development and proliferation of algal blooms which can lead to closure of beaches, disfiguration of the coastal environment,
and the death of fish as has happened in the Adriatic.
Drought and Heat combined—the example of summer 2003 - The most vulnerable tourists seem to have been campers and
caravaners. Forest fires threatened camp sites and actually destroyed some and there were a number of injuries and fatalities. At
several sites emergency evacuations were required. The worst fires were in southern France, Portugal, SW Spain and southern
Italy. These low-cost holidaymakers are also especially vulnerable to heatwaves since there is no obvious access to air
conditioning. There were many reports of holidaymakers abandoning their holidays and returning home early to escape the
great heat. Excess heatwave deaths reached 15,000 in France, 6,000 in Spain and 4,000 in Italy and the European total probably
reached or exceeded 40,000. Although it is not known how many of these deaths involved tourists, the heatwave can be classed
as a major public health incident.
Local people, especially those living in cities such as Rome and Milan tended to abandon their cities whenever possible and
retreat to the coasts, lakes and countryside, joining the normal tourist influx and increasing congestion on roads and
beaches.Infrastructure problems including power cuts in Spain and Italy as a result of excessive demand for air conditioning and
train cancellations because of buckled rails also affected tourists.
British tourists travelling to the Mediterranean received very little advice or warning before their departures. It was often left to
tour reps, themselves with very little medical knowledge, to warn of the dangers, especially from dehydration from excessive
alcohol consumption.
The extreme conditions of the summer 2003 provided a further opportunity to monitor the demand for
Mediterranean holidays in the light of the evolving conditions. In the UK there was a double heatwave with peaks of
temperature in mid-July and again in early August. Between these peaks the weather in late July, at the beginning of the
traditional holiday period coinciding with the school holidays, was more unsettled, although still warm. The return of settled and
hot weather in the first few days of August was well-forecast by the UK Met.Office but it was clear
DISEASE
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Higher temperatures could lead to some Mediterranean holiday areas becoming a suitable habitat for malaria-
bearing mosquitos. Spain, for example, is currently seen as a safe, easily accessible, no-risk destination not requiring
immunisation or courses of treatment against exotic diseases for intending visitors. It is anticipated that by the 2020s suitable
habitats for malaria will have spread northward from North Africa into Spain. Increases in the incidence of food poisoning and
food related diseases associated with enhanced microbiological activity, for example, salmonella and e coli are likely to increase
as temperatures rise. There will be a higher risk of epidemics of cholera and typhoid as well as other infectious diseases.
Adverse publicity would follow such public health scares and frighten tourists away, as happened at Salou, Spain a few years
ago. Extra costs will be involved in maintaining and strengthening public health defenses and in health and hygiene education
programmes.
TOURISTS’ REACTIONS TO THE CHANGING CLIMATE AND ADAPTIVE RESPONSES
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Considerably more
research has been done on the likely changes that Mediterranean climates may experience than on the possible impact of those
changes on tourists in the future. It is not always easy to tease out the impact of climate from the many other factors influencing
holiday choice (Perry 2000).
