Altering international climate patterns imply that the season for holidaying within the Mediterranean is longer than beforehand, as some vacationers attempt to benefit of the autumn months to catch a sun-filled vacation with out the heatwaves of excessive summer time.
A latest report by the European Journey Fee discovered that whereas Mediterranean nations stay the most well-liked vacation spot for Europeans, many travellers are shifting their vacation dates.
Though the Mediterranean tourism season began later this yr with hotter climate coming later than traditional, it’s anticipated to last more – in actual fact, the season has been prolonged near the top of 2023, and 5% extra vacationers are choosing the ‘shoulder season’ of October and November in contrast with the identical interval in 2022, as a consequence of unseasonably heat climate.
European tourism sector professionals say that the entire variety of guests to the Mediterranean may rise, they usually count on these shoppers to e book for seasons outdoors of excessive summer time.
“The same old quantity of reservations, which used to finish in September, has been extended to October and past. This season began late and is anticipated to last more. Normally, bookings finish in September, however this yr, we’ve robust reservations for October and even November from Western and Northern European nations,” Murat Toktas, VicePpresident of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation, advised theguardian.com.
To reap the benefits of the prolonged Mediterranean summer time season, Aegean Airways has launched a brand new enhanced winter schedule. A spokesperson for the airline advised Journey Information that Aegean will contribute to year-round tourism by sustaining common flights to Rhodes, Heraklion and Kalamata till November 2023 whereas commencing the subsequent summer time season a lot earlier, in March 2024.
“Aegean’s new winter schedule is a continuation of the very robust 9 months of 2023. We’re anticipating the identical for the prolonged summer time season in 2024.”
Reuters.com reviews that, sooner or later, extra vacationers and tour operators are anticipated to go to northern Europe after a summer time of crippling heatwaves and wildfires hit southern Europe.
“The Mediterranean area has remained Europe’s hottest summer time vacationer spot, however bookings to nations like Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are on the rise in comparison with 2022.”
The emergence of the late summer time additional season is a welcome bonus for tour operators and resort homeowners, because it permits for extra mattress nights to be supplied for the yr.
Deniz Aksoy, Workplace Supervisor at Haqqi Excursions in Istanbul, Turkey, spoke to Journey Information concerning the adjustments in bookings and seasons this yr.
“We now have seen that our repeat European friends have been making bookings as much as two months later than they’d usually journey. We’re very busy and may actually be transferring into our autumn, however the climate continues to be agreeable, particularly within the southern coastal areas. These resorts are nonetheless very full, though European faculties are in session,” says Aksoy, including that they’re contemplating packages that cowl totally different dates and seasons going ahead.
Membership Med South Africa Managing Director Olivier Perillat-Piratoine advised Journey Information that Membership Med has certainly seen report occupancy due to a warmer-than-expected late summer time season.
“All our Mediterranean Sea locations, Turkey, Morocco, Sicily, Greece, Spain and Portugal have seen a rise in later bookings. Whereas we’ve not seen an actual uptake on the last-minute late season out of South Africa, we’ve seen an exceptional enhance in our present gross sales for 2024 summer time season, rising by +231% yr on yr for the Mediterranean resorts, primarily Turkey and Sicily.”
This shift can also be receiving consideration from European tour operators who say that local weather change is the principle cause for the change.
“If the worldwide local weather disaster continues to escalate, we must evaluation the summer time and winter seasons. That would maybe be an opportunity to cut back over-tourism – shedding some shoppers in summertime however gaining extra within the different 9 months of the yr,” mentioned Hamit Kuk, who heads The Affiliation of Turkish Journey Operators.
The shift in the summertime season and the ensuing unfold in vacationer volumes over an extended time period could possibly be a boon to locations which are overwhelmed with overtourism points on the top of summer time.