The coverage of fires on the island of Rhodes last summer and subsequent floods in September 2023 in Thessaly appear to have had a strong impact on Greece’s reputation, according to research findings conducted by the European Travel Commission (ETC) and MMGY TCI Research, a leading provider of data-driven solutions for Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs).
According to the Climate Change and Tourism in Europe study, which explores the impact of climate change debates on the reputation of European destinations in 2023, Greece, Italy and Spain were most affected in terms of popularity by the topic of climate change in the context of travel in 2023. As they are also some of the warmest and most visited European destinations during the summer, the stories about the effects of climate change focused on them were many.
The effect that adding the issue of climate change to travel has had on the reputation of each destination is first recorded through the level of popularity, with the net sentiment score falling to levels that are overall more negative.
Greece had the lowest score for 2023, as coverage of fires on the island of Rhodes and subsequent floods in September 2023 strongly affected the country’s reputation in online discussions.
Italy and Spain found themselves at the same level of polarity when the topic of climate change was introduced, having faced similar problems such as droughts, heatwaves and forest fires. However, the content did not contain the level of security focus that existed in Greece.
On a second level, the difference in polarity between travel discussions alone and travel discussions with climate change was also higher for the three destinations. Greece recorded a drop of 57 points, followed by Italy with 53 points and finally Spain with 49 points.
Examples of positive reputation
Although the topic of climate change in the context of travel was often negatively polarized, some content benefited the reputation of some destinations. In particular, destinations that offer the possibility of escaping the heat, such as the mountains and destinations of Northern Europe, which are increasingly in the spotlight.
These include several European destinations proposed to avoid heatwaves in 2024, including the Albanian Alps, Belfast in Northern Ireland, Galloway and southern Ayrshire in Scotland, Nordland in Norway, North Yorkshire in England, Saimaa in Finland and Tartu in Estonia.
Travel companies report increased customer interest in northern and Nordic destinations, including Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Scotland, Latvia and Estonia.
