Tourists Choosing 'Coolcations' as Europe Gets Hotter
When Cliff Richard sang about going on a summer holiday in 1963, Europe was in the middle of one of its coldest winters.
The idea of "going where the sun shines brightly," as Richard sang, would have sounded like a dream.
Things are different now. As the weather in the south of Europe gets hotter, some people are looking for cooler summer vacations.
These are being called "coolcations," and according to travel website Condé Nast Traveler, they're one of the hottest travel trends of 2024. Or perhaps that should be: one of the coolest travel trends!
It means some tourists are saying "no thanks" to the beaches of Greece and the bars of Spain, and they're going north to the cooler weather of places like Norway, Sweden, Ireland and Iceland.
It's cooler, but it's not cold: summer temperatures are between 20 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius in the warmer parts of Sweden, for example.
It's still warm enough to go for a swim or walk around in shorts and a T-shirt.
"The climate is much more pleasant," one French visitor to Norway told Agence France-Presse.
She added: "We have not protected our planet, and now that is impacting tourism."
And while some residents in popular Mediterranean places like Mallorca and Barcelona have had enough of tourists, Norway and Sweden are promoting coolcations to get more of them.
"Head north for a refreshing summer holiday," says the Visit Norway website.
And Susanne Andersson from Visit Sweden said the country doesn't just offer cooler weather — it's also cooler because everything is more relaxed!
