The effects of climate change are inextricably linked with tourism, as higher temperatures, increased risk of wildfires, rising sea levels, among other things, prompt tourists to choose other destinations, experts said at a conference held on Thursday in Nicosia on whether climate change was a threat to tourism.

In his presentation on the impact of climate change on tourism, Dr. Christos Giannakopoulos, Research Director at the Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development of the National Observatory of Athens, said that the motivation of tourists to visit islands such as Cyprus was compromised by the effects of climate change, such as high temperatures, fire risk, risks to health and biodiversity.

He referred to a survey they conducted among tourists in Cyprus from Greece, Britain, Serbia and Italy, according to which 98% said that if there were more contagious diseases in the country, they would choose another destination.

If parts of beaches were lost, or if the beaches were lost, 85% said they would change destination, while 73% said they would do so if the temperatures were very unfavourable.

If there was a shortage of water, 72% said they would choose another destination, while 68% said they would do so if there were a lot of forest fires, he said.

He added that if the planet temperature rises by 4 degrees Celsius, Greece and Cyprus would lose revenue since tourism demand will decrease between 2% and 5% depending on the temperature increase in these countries.

Giannakopoulos pointed out that because Cyprus is located in the eastern Mediterranean which is a climate change hot spot, it is expected to face a series of adverse effects on tourism, since warmer winters, more droughts, much more and more intense weather phenomena are expected.

He noted that this would result in the thermal discomfort of residents and tourists, vulnerability to tropical diseases, degradation of nature attractions, but also an increase in the operating costs of hotels in terms of air conditioning and cooling. He also said they may also lose revenue from sea level rise due to the loss of part of the beach.

Giannakopoulos referred to the importance of climate services, how the tourism sector that is, could take meteorological and climatic information and use it for its own activity.

In his own presentation on climate change in Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean, George Zittis, researcher at the Cyprus Institute’s Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C). said that during the last four decades the warming of the region has far exceeded the global average and warms around 0.4 degrees Celsius per decade.

He said there is a trend towards drier conditions, and that the end of the last century was the driest period in the last 500 years for the eastern Mediterranean region.

The rainfall in Cyprus is similar, he said, noting that according to data from the last 120 years, in recent decades we have seen a decrease of 10%-15% compared to the beginning of the last century.

He said that the sea level rise was also a point of concern, noting that most of the critical infrastructures of Cyprus, such as airports, ports, power plants, were located near the sea. There is already a rise in sea level, he said, and it is expected to continue into the current century, while the average sea level rise may exceed about half a meter. As per more pessimistic scenarios, it could exceed one meter, he noted.

Zittis also said that extreme weather phenomena were expected to be more frequent, more intense or of longer duration, and affect the economy, energy demand and production, water resources, biodiversity, agriculture and livestock, human health, transport, infrastructure, the insurance sector but also tourism.

He noted that these changes can indeed be significantly reduced to much more manageable levels, for humans and ecosystems, but to do so requires very decisive and timely action over the next decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and concentrations.

He said that the data he presented was the result of the Cyprus regional initiative to tackle climate change.

The conference “Is climate change a threat to tourism?”, was co-organised by Cyprus' Deputy Ministry of Tourism and the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Initiative.