Climate Implications for Tourism
About This Trend
Vacation, travel, and leisure are being affected by longer periods of higher temperatures. While the city of Scottsdale, Arizona, is marketing its intense heat as a tourism draw, extreme heat is making national park visits riskier, and outdoor concerts and festivals are seeing higher rates of hospitalizations for heat stroke and exhaustion.
In Canada, wildfires and smoke are jeopardizing the country's tourism economy, and higher winter temperatures are threatening ski resorts and winter-based tourism around the world. Planners in tourism-dependent economies will need to help their communities prepare for the coming changes.
Trend Updates
March 3, 2026 — 2026 Updates
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Climate change is boosting “last-chance tourism” to attractions threatened by global warming, such as glaciers and coral reefs. Though some researchers suggest these visitors might become more climate conscious, this practice puts additional pressure on these vulnerable places.
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The rise of “coolcations” points to a changing geography of summer travel, as northern Europe, Canada, and other cooler places see increased tourism.
Trend Category:
Climate Change, Energy, and the Environment
Timeframe: Act Now
As Seen in APA's Trend Report
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