Mauritius rather than Mallorca? How the heat waves are changing our summer holidays

The tourism industry, which makes a significant contribution to Europe's gross domestic product, could be exposed to considerable burdens due to climate change.

This assumption is more than a mere fear, as it is supported by a study of the EU Commission with facts and figures.

This could hit the continent hard in perspective, especially since the recent heat waves with temperatures around and even above 40 degrees Celsius in the Mediterranean region have caused great uncertainty regarding booking figures.

Spain, Italy and Greece are among the EU countries whose economies are particularly strongly oriented towards the tourism sector.

The EU Commission study was carried out by David Garcia León, Analyst for Climate Impacts and Adaptation Policy at the European Commission. He found a clear north-south pattern of change in tourism demand for Europe, with northern regions benefiting from climate change and southern regions facing a significant decline in tourism demand.

Jean-Pierre Mas, president of the French travel agency association "Entreprises de Voyage", disagrees: "There will be no dramatic decline. Instead, there will be a gradual change. How will this change take place? It will take place in two movements or in two phases, if I may put it that way. On the one hand, the French, who have suffered a lot from the heat this summer, will try to find slightly less hot destinations, i.e. less towards the south and slightly more towards the north, be it northern France, but also in northern Europe, i.e. destinations where it is not so hot in July and August.

Mauritius, for example, is now the ninth most important summer destination for the French, even though Mauritius has winter in July and August. So there are behavioural changes