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EDITOR'S FEATURE
The New European Summer
What Happens When Europe's Favourite
Destinations Become
Too Hot to Enjoy?
30 June 2026
3 EPISODES
RESEARCH-BACKED
Why this series matters now?
Understand the big picture
A changing European summer
Key trends & research
How we travel is evolving
Visitors, destinations, habits
INTRODUCTION
—
E
very summer, Europe seems to break another temperature record.
The headlines tell us how hot it was, where wildfires spread or which attractions temporarily closed because of extreme heat. Those stories are important - but they rarely answer a question that many travellers have quietly begun asking themselves:
"What does this actually mean
for the way we travel?"
———
"What does this actually mean for the way we travel?"
SERIES OVERVIEW
—
1
The Tipping Point
2
Changing The Story
3
Following the Shade
ABOUT THIS SERIES
—
This editorial combines personal travel observations with tourism research to explore how climate change is reshaping visitor experiences across Europe.
Research-backed content
REFERENCES
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European Travel Commission (2024). Climate Change & Tourism in Europe.
European Travel Commission (2024). Climate Action Framework for European Tourism Destinations.
European Environment Agency. Climate-ADAPT: Tourism and Climate Change.
European Commission – Joint Research Centre. Matei, N. A. et al. (2023). Regional Impact of Climate Change on European Tourism Demand.
Gössling, S., & Hall, C. M. Tourism and Global Environmental Change.
Urry, J. The Tourist Gaze.
Butler, R. W. (1980). The Concept of a Tourist Area Cycle of Evolution: Implications for Management of Resources.
MacCannell, D. The Tourist.
Stories, insights and slow travel inspiration. Straight to your inbox.
MORE THAN A STORY ABOUT WEATHER
—
This is not a series about weather.
It is a series about people.
About how we adapt without always noticing.
About how destinations aare rethinking what makes a great visitor experience.
And about how travel itself may be entering a new chapter.
RESEARCH SAYS
+2.3 °C
Europe has warmed by 2.3°C since pre-industrial times
Source: Copernicus (2024)
4 of 10
Europeans plan to travel in shoulder seasons to avoid heat and crowding.
Source: ETC (2024)
77%
Travellers say temperature influences their destination choice more than five years ago.
Source: Booking.com (2024)
WHAT I NOTICED
On my last trip through the Alps, I met more travellers starting their hikes before sunrise. It wasn't in any guidebook. It was just... the new normal. Small shifts. Quiet adaptations. The kind that shape the future of travel.
A QUESTION TO TRAVEL WITH
Perhaps the biggest change isn't that Europe's summers are becoming hotter. Maybe they are quietly changing the way we experience Europe itself.
THROUGHOUT THE SERIES, YOU'LL FIND
—
Personal stories from the road
Tourism research and data
Destination case studies
Reflections on changing habits
Ideas for more meaningful travel
Rather than offering simple answers, my hope is to invite a different way of looking at places we thought we already knew.
Some editorial illustrations are created by Globelogue using AI. The visualization is illustrative and not an official product.
