Changing global weather patterns mean that the season for holidaying in the Mediterranean is longer than previously, as some tourists try to advantage of the autumn months to catch a sun-filled holiday without the heatwaves of high summer.
A recent report by the European Travel Commission found that while Mediterranean countries remained the most popular destination for Europeans, many travellers were shifting their holiday dates.
Although the tourism season in the Med started later this year, with warmer weather coming later than usual, it is expected to last longer – in fact, the season has been extended close to the end of the year, and 5% more tourists are opting for the ‘shoulder season’ of October and November compared with the same period in 2022, due to unseasonably warm weather.
European tourism sector professionals say the total number of visitors to the Mediterranean could rise, and they expect those clients to book for seasons outside high summer.
“The usual volume of reservations, which used to end in September, has been prolonged to October and beyond. This season started late and is anticipated to last longer. Usually, bookings end in September but this year we have strong reservations for October and even November from western and northern European countries,” Murat Toktas, Vice President of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation, told theguardian.com.
To take advantage of the extended Mediterranean summer season, Aegean Airlines has introduced a new enhanced winter schedule. A spokesperson for the airline told Travel News that Aegean would contribute to year-round tourism by maintaining regular flights to Rhodes, Heraklion and Kalamata until November, while starting next year’s summer season much earlier in March.
“Aegean’s new winter schedule is a continuation of the very strong nine months of 2023. We are anticipating the same for the extended summer season in 2024.”
Reuters.com reports that in the future, more tourists and tour operators are expected to head to northern Europe after a summer of crippling heatwaves and wildfires hit southern Europe.
“The Mediterranean region has remained Europe’s most popular summer tourist spot, but bookings to countries like Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are on the rise compared with 2022.”
The emergence of the late summer extra season is a welcome bonus for tour operators and resort owners, as it allows for more bed-nights to be offered for the year.
Deniz Aksoy, Office Manager at Haqqi Tours in Istanbul, spoke to Travel News about the changes in bookings and seasons this year.
“We have noticed that our repeat European guests have been making bookings up to two months later than they would normally travel. We are very busy and should really be moving into our autumn, but the weather is still agreeable, especially in the southern coastal regions. Those resorts are still very full, even though European schools are in session,” said Aksoy, adding that Haqqi was now considering packages that covered different dates and seasons.
Club Med South Africa MD, Olivier Perillat-Piratoine, told Travel News that Club Med had seen record occupancy thanks to a warmer than expected late summer season.
“All our Mediterranean Sea destinations, Turkey, Morocco, Sicily, Greece, Spain and Portugal have seen an increase in later bookings. While we have not seen a real uptake on the last-minute late season out of South Africa, we have seen a phenomenal increase in our current sales for 2024 summer season, growing by 231% year on year for the Mediterranean resorts, mainly Turkey and Sicily.”
This shift is also receiving attention from European tour operators who say climate change is the main reason for the change.
“If the global climate crisis continues to escalate, we will have to review the summer and winter seasons. That could perhaps be a chance to reduce over-tourism – losing some clients in summertime but gaining more in the other nine months of the year,” said Hamit Kuk, who heads The Association of Turkish Travel Operators.
The shift in the summer season and the resulting spread in tourist volumes over a longer period could be a boon to destinations that are overwhelmed with overtourism issues at the height of summer.
