It seems that the demographic boom and travelers lead so -called for the first time “Coolcations“Trend, avoiding peak summer hotspots in Europe In favor of cooler climates – such as Nordic and Baltic countries.
Extreme summer heatIn conjunction with the fears of costs and overpopulation, they affect where people decide to vacation.
For some, the attractiveness of traveling travel to Mediterranean places, such as Italy, Greece and Spain in July and August, lost her shine.
Instead, the growing wave of vacationers seems to prioritize summer trips to North Europe to escape from the bladder.
“If you return to postpandemia, 2022, and even until the summer of 2023, we saw South Europe simply full of popularity,” said CNBC CNBC General Director of Intrepid Travel.
“It seemed that everyone just had to return to the Mediterranean Sea, to Italy, Greece, to Spain, because for several years they had no opportunity to be able to do it. What happened was crowded, it was often expensive, and you see various natural challenges – often as a result happens that there are various natural challenges – climate changeThornton said.
“What we saw the opposite is in 2024, and now by 2025, the demand of people who want to travel at the summit of summer, in July and August, to traditionally cooler places in northern Europe,” he added.
Kvalvik's launched bay on the Lofoten archipelago in northern Norway in the Norwegian Sea.
Picture Alliance Picture Alliance Getty images
For his clients in Great Britain, Thornton said that Intrepid Travel recorded a 50% increase in travel reservation to Iceland, Estonia and Scandinavia in the period of July-August, while reservations in Southern Europe have moved to the season.
Intrepid Travel reservations to Italy in April to June and September-October increased by 16%, while Greece reservations in the same periods increased by 37%.
However, Thornton said, however, that reservations to southern Europe in July-August fell by 15%, adding that he expected this trend to persist in the coming years.
“Summer holidays in South Europe seem like they can be counted,” said Thornton.
“Conscious decision”
In particular, the two largest drivers of this year's Coolcation trend were demographic boom-born in 1946–1964-for the first time travelers aged 18 to 35, said IntrePid Travel Thornton.
“The growth comes from the demographic boom at the age of 50 and 1960s. So the children left the house, the mortgage is paid, more free time to leave and maybe less affected by the pressure of living costs,” said Thornton.
“The second group is actually at the opposite end of the scale, which is the first time travelers.
The fireman gesture with a gesture coordinates the fight against fire in the Grammatikos region in Attica on August 12, 2024.
Aris Oikonomou | AFP Getty images
Rome, Barcelona and Athens it usually works Among the most popular summer places in Europe. But hot conditions in South Europe hit the summer travel season.
Europe last year he endured His warmest summer in writing, and activists warned This record heat in March may fuel conditions for more severe heat waves and fires in the coming months.
Jenny Southan, general director of Globender, a world -leading travel trend forecasting agency, said that she expected that the Coolcation tendency intensified when the effects of climate change deteriorate and become more unpredictable.
“Trend” Coolcations “reflects the conscious decision of the growing part of consumers to avoid the most intense summer heat and fires that occur in some parts of the world,” said Southan CNBC.
“Instead of completely avoiding hotspots in Med, for example, they travel in spring and autumn, while in July and August they choose places such as Norway and Finland, which are more moderate,” she added.
Who are the winners of this trend?
In North Europe, such as Sweden and Estonia, the developing refrigeration trend is an economic possibility.
Marketing spokesman for a visit to Sweden said that during coolingS It can be considered a “new driving force”, it is difficult to say whether they are the main reason for growth in tourism.
“There are many driving forces when deciding about the type of vacation and holiday place. We do not have exact numbers of the size of the trend or where they come from. The trend, if it continues, is still at an early stage,” said Sweden.
The sun is no longer worshiping.
Jenny Southan
Globetender CEO
For its part, Estonia's tourist council said that “certainly welcomes” the growing desire for vacationers to realize cooler atmosphere.
“We see it as a more long-term trend, because other factors, as well as the temperature can also affect consumers' behavior, such as transience in some popular resorts and a growing desire to escape to more calm locations and re-merit with nature,” said CNBC Annela Lepp, director of the Estonia tourist council.
Lepp said that she does not expect mass travelers looking for traditional beach holidays to book a trip to Estonia, noticing that the Baltic country “attracts those who are looking for more active, pedestrians and adventurers.”
An abandoned wooden pier on a sunny day in Smaland province, Sweden.
Dutch Istock Getty images
Southan Globetender said that one of the benefits of travelers looking for milder temperatures in the peak summer will refrain from overpopulating in places that were previously flooded by tourists.
“It will be a chance to reset and the economy to restore their balance, so that they do not work without interruption for four months (just like in Ibiza and on many Greek islands). Instead, they will find ways to attract travelers throughout the year, providing a more balanced source of income and exerting less pressure on infrastructure,” said Southan.
In the coming years, Southan said that most people would try to leave the places where they live When it gets too hotNoticing that there are are in Italy that has shown this behavior for decades.
“The sun is no longer worshiping,” said Southan.