Vacations are supposed to be carefree. But in 2025, choosing a holiday spot can feel like a gamble. From Europe to North America, tourist havens are scorched by 40°C heat, shrouded in wildfire smoke, or drowned in floods. Add the guilt of long-haul flights or cruises — the most carbon-intensive things most of us will ever do — and the dream of a relaxing escape feels tainted.
At a major travel conference this year, Stefan Gössling, one of the world’s leading tourism researchers, delivered a stark message: “We have already entered the beginning of the age of non-tourism.”
His warning was blunt. Climate extremes are not just occasional disruptions — they are systematically raising the costs of travel. Food, insurance, energy, and emergency measures are all becoming more expensive, and soon, mass tourism as we know it will be unaffordable for the average traveller.
The era of cheap, carefree holidays is vanishing. What lies ahead is a future where travel is rarer, costlier, and dictated by a destabilised climate. Read Here
News Credit: The Guardian
Picture Credit: Steve Parsons/PA