The Berlin newspaper Berliner Morgenpost looked at to extent global warming may change holiday patterns in the Mediterranean, especially in Greece.
“‘Little Venice’ is one of the most romantic spots on Mykonos … but in a few decades this wonderful place may no longer exist because rising sea levels are eroding the foundations and walls of the houses. Sea level rise will be felt in the future on the beaches of Mykonos. The researchers’ predictions for Greece are particularly worrying.”
The findings suggest that “because of its long coastline, Greece is particularly exposed to rising water levels.”
According to Kostas Synolakis – Professor of Natural Disasters at the University of Southern California and chairman of the Scientific Committee for Climate Change Mitigation in Greece – the “recent projections indicate that sea levels in the Mediterranean could rise by one meter by 2100.”
Synolakis notes that the most vulnerable beaches are those “with fine sand and gentle slopes” which – of course – are those that most holidaymakers prefer.
However, as the newspaper notes, “holidays on Mediterranean beaches may be a thing of the past anyway. A study by Australia’s Intrepid Travel in collaboration with Foresight Laboratory predicts that holidaymakers will turn to cooler destinations in Northern Europe. Destinations such as Greece and Majorca will become very hot in the summer months as a consequence of climate change.”
The problem, of course, is that the Greek government has to manage the rising tourist demand for Greece concurrently with the challenges of global warming.
This is a difficult puzzle as, on the one hand, the more tourists visit Greece, the more Greece’s position improves financially and reputationally, yet on the other, an increased tourist activity is synonymous with environmental pollution. Still, there is no denying that tourism will remain one of Greece’s main economic lifelines, hence the existing – and future – environmental provisions will have to adapt to this reality, and not vice-versa.
Source: Neos Kosmos