Climate change holidays

More mud rain is forecast for Wednesday. | MDB

Humphrey CarterPalma12/04/2022 09:30

Last week the Council of Mallorca invited leading tourism experts from around the world to a two-day conference in Palma about sustainability and how the travel industry can help in driving to ease climate change. The implications of climate change are clearly visible, just look at the dreadful weather we have had in Mallorca since last November, which was one of the wettest on record.

Last month, Scotland and N. Ireland enjoyed more sun than Mallorca and this Easter weekend is going to be hotter in Scotland than Mallorca. But, putting the weather to one side - rising sea levels are eroding the beaches - Mallorca’s coastline is shrinking and that poses a huge challenge for the tourist industry and beach front property owners.

Will their homes and hotels be in the sea within the next 20 years or so? I say 20, some experts are warning it could be a matter of just ten to eleven years before we feel the full impact of climate change unless we speed up the action which has been agreed to tackle the problem.

Just imagine a Mallorca with no beaches, it is going to one day be the same for the winter travel industry, there will be hardly any snow, so what is going to happen to the ski industry? Are we all going to end up going on cruises or heading for the hills?

The tourist industry faces a daunting future.