by The climate emergency poses a “real risk” to Spain’s traditional tourism model as rising temperatures and more frequent heat waves hit the country’s most popular coastal destinations, a senior public health adviser has warned.
Héctor Tejero, head of health and climate change at Spain’s health ministry, said the ministry had already started discussions with the British Embassy because of the physical impacts of the climate emergency that are becoming more apparent about how to it is better to educate “vulnerable” tourists in dealing with the heat.
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When asked if the climate emergency could lead to tourism leaving parts of Spain in the future, Tejero said: “It’s a real risk because of the great Spaniards. sol and play the tourist areas – the areas most dependent on tourism – in Spain are places where climate change will have the greatest impact; places like the south and east of the peninsula – basically the Mediterranean coast. There is a definite risk that the areas with the most tourism will become less habitable due to more heat waves and much warmer nights.”
Such conditions, he said, could discourage tourists, or push up air conditioning costs for hotels because the units would have to be on for longer periods.
“I would say that tourism is one of many sectors that are at risk from climate change,” said Tejero. “Apart from the fact that it is creating tension in certain areas, it has to adapt itself to the reality of the climate that is on the way. That’s why we need to adapt the tourism sector, think about reducing it, and try to mitigate the effects of climate change before they get worse. But Spain is the EU country most vulnerable to climate change and that will not change in the short term.”
Concerns about over-tourism in Spain – which received 85.1 million international visitors last year, a 19% increase on 2022 – have led to large demonstrations across the country in recent months. Protesters in the Canary Islands have complained that the presence of so many tourists is exacerbating water shortages, while activists in the Balearic Islands are calling for a limit on the number of cars arriving on the island by ferry.
A Spanish government report published eight years ago predicted that a changing climate could drastically change Spain’s tourism industry, eroding beaches, flooding transport systems, creating water shortages at the height of the season and ski resorts are forced to close. The report predicted that by 2080, tourism from northern Europe could fall by 20% from its 2004 level as rising temperatures encourage people to holiday at home.
But, as Tejero pointed out, heat waves and higher temperatures are still the most obvious and immediate symptoms of the emergency – and they are especially dangerous for unaccustomed tourists.
“We are in talks, with the British Embassy in particular – with whom we already collaborate on various aspects of climate change and decarbonisation – to start thinking about how we can make the tourists who come in much more aware of the climate crisis and to give them more advice so they can protect themselves,” he said.
“At the end of the day, tourists are more at risk in the heat because they are obviously not adapted to local temperatures, which is very important. We can see that they are not adapted; they don’t tend to protect themselves from the heat – and everyone tends to relax on holiday and take things less seriously when staying out in the sun at the hottest times of the day day.”
Tejero said visitors would do well to follow the government’s heat wave slogan – “protect yourself; hydrate yourself; refresh yourself” – and tips from locals who know the importance of staying out of the sun between noon and 4pm.
“We had very few fatal cases of heat stroke last year among tourists, over 50 or 60 years of age, who went on walks during the summer and got heat stroke,” he said.
“I was reading a case the other day where a woman died because her husband didn’t speak enough Spanish to get help on the phone after she collapsed. I think tourists need to remember that they are a bit more vulnerable than the local population – and that means they need to adhere even more closely to the advice on staying hydrated and staying out of the sun.”
The risks have been made clear in other parts of southern Europe that are struggling with extreme heat. In June, several foreign tourists, including British TV presenter Michael Mosley, died during a period of unseasonably high temperatures in Greece.
Tejero noted that recent epidemiological studies have shown that approximately 3,000 heat-related deaths are attributable to the heat in Spain each year, and that emergency hospital admissions increase by 10% due to hot periods. He added that higher temperatures would lead to an increase in vector-borne diseases, pointing out that a man was admitted to hospital in Madrid this week with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, a tick-borne disease.
