Tourists are booking cooler, quieter and less crowded vacations this year, pivoting away from Europe's traditional summer hotspots amid growing concerns over blistering heat and raging wildfires .

The trend reaffirms the phenomenon of so-called " coolcations " — a portmanteau of "cool" and "vacation," which refers to tourists seeking cooler climes instead of a hot, peak-summer destination.

Record-breaking heat has swept across Europe in recent days, pushing temperatures in some areas well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and fueling regional wildfires.

Jenny Southan, CEO of travel trend forecasting agency Globetrender, described the summer of 2025 as "a turning point for European tourism, underscoring that no destination is truly immune to climate volatility."

Extreme heat

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