Why travelers are increasingly choosing “cool” holidays: northern destinations are becoming the answer to hot summers
Heat waves, increasingly frequent weather extremes and the growing uncertainty of summer travel are changing the way holidays are planned. More and more travelers, when choosing a destination, no longer look only at price, flight availability, the sea, cultural offerings or a city’s popularity, but also at the question of how bearable their stay will be during the hottest part of the year. In this context, there is increasing talk of “cool holidays”, that is, trips to areas with milder summer temperatures, more shade, water, forests, mountains or fresher northern air. Such trips are no longer just a niche idea for nature lovers, but are becoming part of a broader shift in tourism demand.
The European Commission, Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization have warned in recent climate reports that Europe is warming faster than the global average and that heat stress, tropical nights, droughts, fires and floods are increasingly important factors for public health, infrastructure and the economy. Tourism is adapting to such an environment in two ways: travelers are changing dates and locations, while destinations are trying to respond with new forms of offer, better information and risk management. Holidays by fjords, lakes, forests, mountain trails or cities with more pleasant summers are increasingly being presented as a practical alternative to exhausting heat.
Heat is becoming one of the key criteria when planning travel
According to data from the European Travel Commission, climate change is increasingly directly affecting travelers’ decisions in Europe. In a survey on travel intentions for spring and summer 2025, it was stated that 81 percent of Europeans believe that a changing climate affects their travels in some way. Because of this, some travelers follow weather forecasts more often, some actively seek milder climates, and some avoid destinations that are particularly exposed to extreme heat. In the same context, the ETC states that pleasant and stable weather is one of the important factors when choosing a destination, alongside price and a sense of safety.
Such data do not mean that traditional summer destinations are losing their appeal overnight. The Mediterranean, coastal cities and well-known resorts still have strong demand, developed infrastructure and a recognizable tourism identity. However, what is changing is the calculation of risk. A trip in August is no longer planned only according to school holidays or accommodation prices, but also according to the possibility that temperatures may reach levels that make sightseeing, walking, being outdoors or traveling with children and older people strenuous. In such circumstances, northern destinations gain a new advantage: they do not necessarily offer exoticism, but a functional, more pleasant and safer stay during the hottest part of the year.
In the tourism industry, the English term “coolcation”, created by combining the words “cool” and “vacation”, is often used for this trend. Although the term is marketing-oriented, the phenomenon it describes has a real basis. Travelers who choose such holidays most often look for places with lower daytime temperatures, opportunities for activities in nature, less exposure to heat stress and a more flexible daily rhythm. These may include Norwegian fjords, the Scottish Highlands, Finnish lakes, Alpine valleys, Baltic cities, more northern coasts, but also mountain areas in countries otherwise associated with hot summers. In destinations where the name of the place is often associated with staying in nature,
accommodation near a lake, forest or mountain trails is also becoming increasingly important, because the location of accommodation directly affects the experience and resilience of travel to heat.
Climate data provide a broader context for the tourism shift
The Copernicus Climate Change Service announced that 2025 was the third warmest year in the history of global measurements, immediately behind 2024 and 2023. In the European context, the European State of the Climate 2024 report, prepared by Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization, is particularly important. It states that 2024 was the warmest year in Europe since measurements began, with the second-highest number of days with heat stress and tropical nights. The European Commission also points out that a large part of the continent had more than the average number of days with strong heat stress, during which the “feels-like temperature” reaches at least 32 degrees Celsius.
For tourism, the difference between the air temperature itself and what visitors actually experience on the street, at the beach, on an excursion or in public transport is important. Heat stress depends on temperature, humidity, wind, radiation, shade and physical activity. A city with stone streets, little greenery and crowds can be considerably more uncomfortable than a place with the same temperature, but with more shade, water and airy space. That is why there is increasing discussion about how cities and tourist centers can adapt public spaces: more trees, available drinking water, cooler shelters, clearer health instructions, earlier or later tour times and better crowd management.
The European Environment Agency warns that extreme weather events, including heat waves, droughts and floods, are having an increasing effect on health, infrastructure and the economy. Tourism is particularly sensitive because it is based on the movement of large numbers of people, often during short seasonal peaks and in locations already burdened by traffic, water consumption and energy needs. When heat waves are added to this, pressure increases on hotels, public transport, health services, water supply and the local population. That is why a “cool holiday” is not only an individual choice of more pleasant weather, but also part of the broader adaptation of the tourism system to climate risks.
The north, mountains and lakes are gaining new tourism value
Northern destinations have long been presented in summer tourism differently from classic sunny destinations. Their advantages were nature, space, walking and cycling routes, lakes, fjords, national parks, fishing villages, cultural cities and the possibility of slower travel. In new climate conditions, precisely these characteristics are becoming more important on the market. Mild summers, long days, natural landscapes and a greater possibility of outdoor activities without extreme heat create a different perception of value.
Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland, the Baltic countries and Alpine areas are increasingly appearing in analyses of travel toward cooler summer regions. In such destinations, a holiday is not built around spending the whole day on the beach, but around a combination of nature, culture, gastronomy, local routes and a calmer pace. For visitors who want to avoid the hottest parts of Europe, locations by water and at higher elevation are especially attractive: fjords, highlands, lake areas and mountain places offer a feeling of freshness, but also enough content for a multi-day stay.
The change can also be seen in the way accommodation is searched for. With this type of travel, proximity to nature, the possibility of easy access to trails, good transport connections and flexibility of stay become more important. Travelers planning a summer in cooler regions often do not look only for a hotel in the city center, but for
accommodation for an active holiday in nature, a stay by a lake, an apartment in a smaller place or a base from which a wider area can be explored. This also changes the tourism offer because local guides, public transport, thematic routes, sustainable visitor management and clear information on weather conditions gain greater importance.
It is not about the disappearance of summer tourism in the south, but about the redistribution of seasons
The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre analyzed how climate change could affect demand for tourism in European regions. In a study covering 269 European regions and several climate scenarios, it is stated that global warming is likely to reshape the seasonal and spatial distribution of tourism demand. According to these projections, pressure on summer demand is expected in parts of southern Europe, while certain regions of northern and central Europe could gain attractiveness, especially in warmer months.
This does not mean that popular coastal destinations will lose importance. Instead, it is increasingly likely that the shift of travel toward spring and autumn will intensify, while part of summer demand will seek fresher alternatives. April, May, September and October could become more important for destinations that have so far depended most on July and August. Such development could be useful if it reduces pressure at the peak of the season, distributes income better and enables a higher-quality relationship between tourism, the local community and the environment.
However, the change also brings challenges. Destinations gaining new guests must be careful not to repeat the problems of overtourism: rising housing prices, pressure on local infrastructure, crowds in natural locations, seasonal employment and the commercialization of small communities. Northern and mountain destinations often have sensitive ecosystems, limited infrastructure and smaller capacities for sudden jumps in visitor numbers. That is why “cool holidays” cannot be viewed only as a new tourism product, but also as a test of sustainable management for destinations that are becoming more popular precisely because of climate change.
Travelers are increasingly planning the rhythm of the day according to the weather
The change is not related only to the choice of destination, but also to behavior during the trip itself. Tourist activities are increasingly planned in the early morning or evening hours, while the hottest part of the day is used for rest, indoor spaces or shorter activities. Booking.com, in its predictions for 2025, highlighted growing interest in nighttime and evening experiences, including activities under dark skies, stargazing and programs that avoid the strongest daytime sun. Although this is a commercial study, it illustrates well a broader change: a holiday is increasingly less understood as exposure to the sun from morning to evening.
In urban tourism, this may mean earlier sightseeing, longer breaks, museum visits during the day and a return to the streets in the early evening. In natural destinations, it may mean shorter, better-planned routes, more attention to water and equipment, and avoiding excursions during periods of high heat risk. In family travel and travel by older people, such planning becomes especially important because heat can seriously affect health and safety.
That is exactly why destinations that offer a more pleasant summer rhythm gain an additional competitive advantage. It is not only about somewhere being “cooler”, but about it being easier to spend the whole day without constantly adapting to extreme conditions. Lakes, forests, mountains, northern coasts and cities with more greenery enable a more varied daily schedule. In such circumstances,
accommodation close to natural and cultural attractions becomes an important part of planning, because it reduces the need for long transfers during the hottest hours and makes it easier to return for rest during the day.
The tourism industry must offer safety and sustainability at the same time
UN Tourism, in its materials on climate change, emphasizes that tourism is at the same time affected by the climate crisis and part of a system that must reduce emissions. Travel, especially travel connected with transport, has a significant carbon footprint, while tourist destinations are increasingly exposed to the consequences of warming. This paradox becomes visible precisely in the trend of cool holidays: travelers are escaping the heat, but the way they travel can additionally burden the climate and local communities.
That is why the new demand opens the question of responsible planning. Longer stays instead of several short trips, better use of public transport, avoiding overloaded locations, respecting local rules and choosing accommodation that uses water and energy reasonably are becoming important elements of more sustainable tourism. Destinations that want to benefit in the long term from interest in cooler holidays will have to offer more than a marketing slogan. Reliable climate data, transparent information about the season, visitor management in natural areas and investments in infrastructure that can withstand changes in demand will be needed.
For travelers, the most important practical consequence is clear: summer holidays are increasingly being planned as a combination of desire, health, weather and risk. Cooler destinations are not necessarily a replacement for the sea, but an answer to the question of how to travel in a period when extreme heat is becoming increasingly frequent. Northern cities, lake regions, mountain places and coasts with a milder climate are therefore entering the center of a new tourism logic. In the years to come, the successful destinations will not be only those that offer the most sun, but those that can offer a pleasant, safe and well-organized stay in increasingly unstable summers.
Sources:- Copernicus Climate Change Service – Global Climate Highlights 2025 and data on temperatures in 2025 (link)- Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization – European State of the Climate 2024, report on the European climate, heat stress and extreme events (link)- European Commission – summary of findings on heat stress in Europe and the European State of the Climate 2024 report (link)- European Travel Commission – survey on travel intentions in Europe for spring and summer 2025 and the impact of climate on destination choice (link)- European Travel Commission – Monitoring Sentiment for Intra-European Travel Spring/Summer 2025, report on demand, traveler concerns and destination choice (link)- European Commission Joint Research Centre – analysis of the possible reshaping of European tourism demand due to global warming (link)- European Environment Agency – overview of climate impacts, risks and adaptation in Europe (link)- UN Tourism – materials on tourism, emissions and climate change (link)- Booking.com – Travel Predictions 2025, research on changes in travel habits and growing interest in nighttime and cooler experiences (link)
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