‘Coolcations' are booming again as tourists prioritize quieter, off-peak trips

CNBC

a day ago

Tourists are booking cooler, quieter and less crowded vacations this year, pivoting away from Europe's traditional summer hotspots amid growing concerns over blistering heat and raging wildfires.
The trend reaffirms the phenomenon of so-called "coolcations" — a portmanteau of "cool" and "vacation," which refers to tourists seeking cooler climes instead of a hot, peak-summer destination.
Record-breaking heat has swept across Europe in recent days, pushing temperatures in some areas well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and fueling regional wildfires.
Jenny Southan, CEO of travel trend forecasting agency Globetrender, described the summer of 2025 as "a turning point for European tourism, underscoring that no destination is truly immune to climate volatility."
Extreme heat is made much more likely by the climate crisis, the chief driver of which is the burning of fossil fuels.
Heatwaves and wildfires across popular vacation destinations in Spain, Portugal and Greece have taken their toll on local infrastructure in recent weeks, triggering mass evacuations and shuttering beaches.
Alarmingly high temperatures have also been recorded in Nordic countries such as Norway, Sweden and Finland, posing a direct challenge to the notion that northern Europe "offers guaranteed relief" in peak summer, Southan told CNBC by email.
"This double blow has accelerated a behavioural shift already in motion: travellers are avoiding the most intense heat periods, favouring cooler coastal or alpine locations, moving trips to spring and autumn, and experimenting with higher-latitude destinations from the Baltics to the Scottish Highlands," Southan said.
Data published last month by the European Travel Commission (ETC) showed that travel remains a top priority for Europeans despite economic uncertainty.
The ETC found that heightened concern about overcrowding had prompted tourists to spend their 2025 summer vacations in less popular or off-the-beaten track destinations, while interest in traditional hotspots has declined.
"Our latest data shows that, even amid shifting economic and social realities, Europeans are not willing to compromise on travel, and they increasingly prefer quieter destinations and trips outside peak seasons," ETC President Miguel Sanz said in a statement.
Global travel network Virtuoso said in its latest advisor survey that 79% of respondents agreed extreme weather events impacted travel planning, while 55% reported that their clients were choosing to travel at off peak times due to the climate crisis.
Nicholas Smith, holidays digital director at Thomas Cook and the eSky Group online travel agency, said there had been a surge in alternative seasonal choices this year.
"One of the fastest-rising trends among British travellers is the 'coolcation' - swapping peak heat for more temperate destinations," Smith told CNBC by email.
European destinations such as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and increasingly Poland were among those attracting tourists who want active vacations, comfortable weather "and experiences with real depth," Smith said.
Another one of the winners to emerge from the coolcations trend has been the small central European country of Slovenia, which has received growing interest in higher altitude, cooler destinations.
"Due to increasingly high summer temperatures and the rising demand for quality leisure time in nature, visitors are increasingly choosing destinations at higher elevations, which offer diverse experiences and active opportunities throughout the year. And also lakes and rivers are favorable destinations," a spokesperson for the Slovenian Tourist Board told CNBC by email.
While a shift in travel preferences may help to alleviate overtourism in Europe's traditional hotspots, the coolcations trend could have significant economic consequences.
Southern European countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal are all heavily reliant on tourism, with the latest available data showing the sector accounted for 18%, 12.3% and 11.9% of gross domestic product, respectively.
Linda Jonczyk, a spokesperson for TUI, Europe's largest tour operator, said the company was seeing growing interest in Nordic destinations such as Iceland, Norway and Sweden due to the coolcations trend. Yet, bookings were still relatively low compared to other traditional summer hotspots.
"Classic sun and beach destinations around the Mediterranean continue to be high in demand – Spain, Greece and Turkey are and remain the undisputed favourites," Jonczyk told CNBC by email.
For its part, Portugal's national tourism authority said summer demand in key regions remains robust. A spokesperson for Turismo de Portugal said that while some regions in the north and center were managing localized wildfires, the vast majority of the country was unaffected.
"Portugal's tourism infrastructure is highly prepared to respond to such challenges, with contingency measures in place to ensure minimal disruption," Turismo de Portugal told CNBC by email.
"Airports and ports across the country are operating at full capacity, and the tourism sector remains strong — with summer arrivals in key regions matching or surpassing last year's numbers," they added.
Globetrender's Southan said she expects the coolcations trend to solidify over the coming years.
She predicted that by the late 2020s, the Mediterranean's peak travel season could shift to May-June and September-October, with July-August "becoming a 'climate risk zone' for mass tourism."
"Southern destinations will increasingly invest in climate-resilient infrastructure – shaded public spaces, heat-adaptive hotels, wildfire prevention corridors – while promoting alternative experiences beyond the midday sun," Southan said.
"Meanwhile, northern Europe, once a niche summer escape, may need to manage its own version of 'overtourism' as hotter summers drive demand. For the travel industry, adapting to this new normal is no longer optional – it's the difference between thriving in a changing climate and being left behind."