An increase in extreme weather events is disrupting travel patterns, impacting travel operators, destinations and travelers around the world. Regions such as Europe and Australia have already been significantly affected, but Asia is starting to catch up. Travel operators are adjusting tours and schedules, highlighting the need for education and innovation around sustainable tourism.
Some of Asia’s most popular tourist spots are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as the late-blooming cherry blossoms at Canal Cafe in Tokyo in mid-April 2024 (Photo: Ann Somanas)
In early 2024, the United Nations released a study showing that climate change could affect tourism and agricultural production. The world is predicted to experience an increase in climate disasters, higher food prices, and more extreme weather events. This, combined with the effects of El Niño (an even more pronounced effect of climate change this year), is predicted to cause a decline in global GDP.
Indeed, Asia’s tourism industry is increasingly being hit hard by climate change and extreme weather events that disrupt traditional travel patterns and operations. While the impacts are more pronounced in regions such as Europe, the US and Australia, Asia is catching up, with major implications for tour operators, destinations and travelers.
Bruce Poon Tip, founder of global boutique adventure tour operator G Adventures, highlighted the unpredictability of the seasons which is causing widespread disruption. “We’re seeing more extreme wet and dry seasons in the Southern Hemisphere and more seasonal unpredictability which is causing disruption everywhere. We’re constantly monitoring where we can and can’t operate tours,” he commented, adding that the major incident management aspect of the business is a challenge.
He further explained, “In addition to political instability, climate and environmental change are going to have the biggest impact on where we can safely visit. G Adventures has the resources to adapt to this more than other companies, but unfortunately for smaller operators, the negative effects of climate change and natural disasters will cause even more problems.”
Impact on businesses
The planet marked World Environment Day this year after 12 consecutive months of record-breaking temperatures. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Report released on June 5, global temperatures in May were 1.52°C higher than the historical average, making it the hottest May on record.
In Thailand, the scorching heat is affecting tourist behavior and operations. Tripseed’s Ewan Clarkey noted that bookings have fallen, especially during the peak heat months of March and April. “Some travelers arrive in Thailand and decide it’s too hot, especially in March and April when the dryness and heat are at their worst,” he said.
Thiam Wei Toh of Indie Singapore Tours agreed, saying unsettled weather was affecting walking tours, leading to frequent cancellations.
Travel companies are adapting. Thailand’s Local Alike is developing night-time tours to cater to tourists overwhelmed by the heat. “We’ve noticed that our customers, both Thai and foreign, are very sensitive to the heat and can’t spend more than an hour or two in the sun,” said Somsak Boonkam, the company’s founder. “As an alternative, we’re developing night-time tours that will launch later this month.”
Poon Tip: Climate change will impact the major incident management aspects of business (Photo: G Adventures)
In Malaysia, Universal Holiday Travel & Tourism has adjusted its tour schedules to avoid the afternoon heat, as founder and CEO Zahira Tahir explains: “Malaysia has experienced hotter weather than usual this year. We now start our half-day city tours of Kuala Lumpur at around 8 or 9am and finish by lunchtime to avoid the midday heat. Previously, these tours started at 10am.”
Extreme weather conditions that hit Thailand in April this year also forced the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to cancel plans to hold 21-day Songkran festivals to mark the holiday, which is listed as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
The extended festival, aimed at encouraging travel over the Thai New Year period, faced challenges as travellers shied away from extreme temperatures. In response, the TAT rolled out a campaign to boost tourism activity in the mornings and evenings during the period.
Looking to the future
Kevin Fan, director of the Centre for Responsible Tourism in Singapore, suggested that these changes we face due to climate change are not all doom and gloom, but rather an opportunity for travel companies to package this as education and change the messaging.
“In the near future, some of these travel experiences may become what the tourism industry calls ‘last chance tourism,’ but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It just puts more responsibility on travel companies to think more about education and messaging,” he said, adding that travel companies will have to “rethink how things are done” and “it has to be different to how they’ve been done for the past few decades.”
Poon also highlighted the changing demographics of the travel industry, noting that millennials and Gen Z are increasingly becoming the primary consumer groups. “They’re from a generation that’s often talking about sustainability, responsibility, the SDGs and so on in their conversations. So, while it’s a game changer for travel companies now, it also makes things a little easier because the customer base that they’ll be serving in the next few years is people who are well-versed and knowledgeable on the subject.”
Witsanu Atavanich, an environmental economist and climate researcher at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, said costs for the industry would rise as the effects of climate change become more pronounced, requiring investment and innovation to combat global warming.
Poon Tip comments: “Adventure travelers are resilient and will continue to travel regardless of the circumstances because it’s so important to them. But the destinations they can visit and the times they travel will change.” — Additional reporting by Karen Yue and S. Puvaneswari
