British holidaymakers<\/a> are increasingly avoiding travelling to European holiday hotspots such as Spain and Greece in August as the continent enters an \u201cuncharted territory of climate change\u201d and heatwaves<\/a> become more common, according to tourism and climate experts.<\/p>\n This summer, Europe has been hit by successive heatwaves<\/a>, with temperatures often surpassing 40\u00b0C across the south of the continent.<\/p>\n New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n In Florence in northern Italy, where tourists are predicted to see the mercury rise to 40 \u00b0C, a four-year-old boy died of heatstroke. On Monday, half of France was placed under a heatwave warning, while Spain<\/a>, which is grappling with two major wildfires<\/a>, has been issued with weather alerts, warning of \u201cextreme danger\u201d in Zaragoza and the Basque Country in the north of the country. <\/p>\n In three to five years, we may see the end of the traditional August holiday, according to Manuel Alector Ribeiro, an associate professor in Tourism Management at Surrey University. <\/p>\n \u201cThere has been a change in British holidaymakers\u2019 behaviour,\u201d he said, \u201cin terms of how they are booking holidays, especially to the Mediterranean, and that is related to the heatwaves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe tourist seasons are extending,\u201d Professor Ribeiro told The i Paper. \u201cSeasons are increasing around May and June, and September and October to avoid extreme temperatures and big crowds. October is the new August.\u201d<\/p>\n More Britons are seemingly aware of this, with 76 per cent of UK adults believing one or more popular holiday destinations will be too hot to visit within the next five years, according to a survey released this summer by InsureandGo. <\/p>\n As a result, over a third of the survey\u2019s respondents were looking to shift their main holiday dates by a month or two.<\/p>\n Europe is the fastest-warming continent, heating up at twice the global average, according to the EU\u2019s Copernicus Programme. Some of the most popular European tourist destinations are expected to experience at least double the number of heatwaves by the early 2050s.<\/p>\n We are \u201centering an uncharted territory of climate change\u201d, according to Dr Malcolm N Mistry, an assistant professor in climate modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. <\/p>\n Data modelling from ClimateAi, a California-based company helping businesses minimise climate change-related risks, shared with The i Paper, shows that the rise in heatwaves will be particularly pronounced in Rome, Italy, where the mean temperature is due to rise by 1\u00b0C by 2050.<\/p>\n \u201cWarming of just 1\u00b0C in the mean temperature can double or more the number of days exceeding [heatwave] thresholds,\u201d Will Kletter, chief operating officer of ClimateAi, said.<\/p>\n In Barcelona<\/a>, this rise in average temperature is expected by the end of the 2050s, in Athens, by 2053, and Lisbon<\/a> will exceed the 1\u00b0C threshold by 2080.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely, we will see temperatures continue to rise and experience more extreme weather events over 40\u00b0C,\u201d said Mr Kletter.<\/p>\n In addition to travelling at other times of year, Britons are travelling to different destinations farther north.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are looking for cooler places. Nordic destinations are gaining on this\u2026 and the expectation is this will increase over the coming years,\u201d Professor Ribeiro said.<\/p>\n Last year, there was a 44 per cent increase in travel to cooler destinations such as Canada, Finland and Iceland, a 2024 poll by the luxury travel company Virtuoso showed.<\/p>\n And in countries already frequented by European tourists in the summer, alternative destinations are growing in popularity. <\/p>\n \u201cIn Spain, the northern coast of Spain is benefiting, places like Santander and Bilbao,\u201d Professor Ribeiro said. \u201cIn France, this is happening in Brittany and Normandy. Tour agencies and airways are responding by expanding capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n Avoiding peak summer months for heat in top holiday destinations will also be a great benefit to the host countries themselves, Professor Ribeiro said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are big stresses on resources in peak seasons; we see that with water scarcity in places like Spain, and water scarcity is also being impacted by climate change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Professor Ribeiro explained how a more equal distribution of tourism between May and October was a \u201chuge benefit\u201d for businesses that currently had to deal with significant changes in tourism seasonality.<\/p>\n \u201cFor business, it is good they keep their businesses running for a longer period of time,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cMore distribution [of tourism] with fewer peaks means they can keep their business open for the whole year and keep their staff working.\u201d<\/p>\n However, there would inevitably still be British travellers who had to plan their holidays for July or August because of school holiday timetables.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there needs to be a discussion [around school timetables],\u201d Professor Ribeiro said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important for families and kids to disconnect and rest. If the seasons are changing, why not change the holiday season as well?\u201d<\/p>\n Professor Mistry argued the main areas of adaptation would have to come from the tourist destinations themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are going to a place with 40\u00b0C heat, you want to feel safe,\u201d he told The i Paper, \u201cThey will have to find a way to improve health infrastructure, make sure there are enough makeshift shelters and air conditioning \u2013 and they are already beginning to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n To people who have an upcoming trip this August to southern Europe, Professor Mistry advised those with pre-existing health conditions, pregnant women, and elderly people to take particular care. \u201cIt is vulnerable people whose functionality capacity to release excess heat decreases.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRemain in shade, keep hydrated, take frequent breaks indoors, and take care your young ones are not outside, in peak heat hours for too long.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As heatwaves force Britons to reconsider visiting Europe, is this the end for the traditional August summer holiday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5312],"tags":[2000,299,2461,104,10785,183],"class_list":{"0":"post-343032","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-heatwave","11":"tag-spain","12":"tag-summer-holidays","13":"tag-travel"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115025428204040463","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"ANKARA,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_261990478.jpg\")
Extreme weather events and wildfires across Europe (Photo: Omar Zaghloul\/ Anadolu\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Trees](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_261413128.jpg\")
Trees burn during a wildfire near in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, southern France this month (Photo: Abdul Saboor\/Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AD_4nXffoYIf02e1RqJsxdFWn41W6Y5X9j9B98XQ3nrWJ5GktgXl78wJsIRgxLL48JdZYnJCcWqa5Q-oscEg-pJSbQqVPMGIQ46E.png\")
Yearly mean temperature difference in Rome compared to its current climate (Photo: ClimateAi)<\/p>\n![\"Residents](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_262007822.jpg\")
Residents try to extinguish the forest fire in Pareisas, northwestern Spain on Wednesday (Photo: Lalo R Villar\/AP)<\/p>\n