“The likelihood is that Mediterranean summers may be too hot for tourists after 2020, as a result of too much heat and water shortages.” This is one of the conclusions of a study published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.
As temperatures soar across Europe some northern Europeans travelling to Mediterranean beaches are finding the weather no warmer than at home. But this could only be taste of things to come. "Those conditions will become more prevalent in future,” David Viner, a senior climate scientist at the University of East Anglia in England warns.
Climate change could dramatically change the face of Maltese tourism in the next 20 years as traditional tourism flows are inverted with European tourists flocking to the UK to escape unbearably hot continental summers. Weather changes may provide revival opportunities for northern seaside towns such as Blackpool but these could spell disaster for Malta and other Mediterranean destinations. According to Dr Viner the heatwave across continental Europe in 2003 was a useful indication of the extent of climatic changes expected in the future. “We are already seeing things change quite radically,” he said. “What we saw in 2003 we were not expecting to happen until 2050.”
With a similar heat wave raging this summer, the alarm bells are ringing. Mediterranean beaches may simply get too hot for tourists this century because of global warming and northern Europeans will find the summer balmy enough to stay at home, researchers said last Thursday.
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http://www.businesstimes.com.mt/2006/08/02/l9.html
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