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Commentary: Extreme weather has not put people off travelling

There is a disconnect between wanting to travel sustainably and actually doing so, says travel writer Ng Yixin.

Commentary: Extreme weather has not put people off travelling
A sign with a photo of Mount Fuji covered in snow is seen at a view point, while a snow-less Mount Fuji looms in the background. The mountain remained snow-less on Oct 31 - the latest date that its slopes have been bare since records began 130 years ago. (Photo: AFP/Yuichi Yamazaki)
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SINGAPORE: 2024 saw temperatures surge to historic highs, with both China and Japan recently declaring that last year was their hottest on record.

Extreme weather has taken its toll on the travel industry. Last year, Japan’s Mount Fuji saw its longest recorded interval without snow, during which the mountain was almost unrecognisable without its iconic frost-tipped peak.

Thanks to warm temperatures, Japan’s popular fall foliage season was also delayed to December.

Meanwhile, South Korea saw record snowfall in late November, killing four and bringing daily life to a grinding halt. The heavy snow caused traffic accidents, including a 53-vehicle pile-up which injured 11. Ferry routes were suspended and over a hundred flights were cancelled.

According to the World Travel Market Global Travel Report for 2024, almost 30 per cent of travellers have avoided travelling to a destination due to concerns about severe weather, such as wildfires, extreme heat and flooding.

The report also highlighted that warmer locales such as Greece and Thailand will see a decline in the number of days conducive for outdoor activity. As a result, Northern European and North American destinations may become more appealing to international travellers.

UNABATED DEMAND FOR TRAVEL

However, even if travellers are mindful of the disruptive effects of climate change on tourism, demand for travel remains unabated. The number of air travel passengers will cross 5 billion for the first time in 2025, according to the International Air Transport Association.

In Japan, despite reports of bad weather in 2023, visitor arrivals rose in 2024 through the summer and spring seasons. Overcrowding at Mount Fuji remains a bugbear. To tackle it, local authorities have restricted entrance times and doubled tolls for popular trails.

Moreover, travellers continue to make advance bookings to popular destinations that have suffered bouts of extreme weather. Sabre booking data for 2025 rank Thailand and Spain – which respectively experienced heatwaves and floods in 2024 – in the top destinations booked by “early bird” travellers.

DISILLUSIONMENT ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

Such unabated travel demand may have to do with growing feelings of disillusionment and futility about climate change. A study conducted by Booking.com in February 2024 revealed that 28 per cent of respondents were tired of hearing about climate change all the time, and one-third of respondents felt that the damage done to the environment is irreversible.

The report also found a disconnect between wanting to travel sustainably and actually doing so. Some 28 per cent of respondents said sustainable travel is important to them, but is not a primary consideration when planning or booking a trip.

Yet the impact of climate change on beloved tourism icons – and our role in it – are undeniable. Though tourism accounts for just 8 per cent of the world’s carbon footprint, travel emissions are growing more than two times faster than global emissions.

We are at a unique juncture in history where climate change is intersecting with democratised leisure travel and conspicuous consumption. The average plane ticket is now 44 per cent cheaper than it was a decade ago; and the ubiquity of social media has tied the success of one’s travels to photographic proof of having “checked in” to famous sites.

On the one hand, such consumerist travel appetites have reduced attractions to checkboxes on a bucket list, hampering the shift towards sustainable tourism.

On the other, modern-day attachments to natural wonders, and the emotional response to witnessing their decline, could also provide the motivation to ditch frequent flights to accessible locales, in favour of slow travel.

It remains to be seen if frequent weather disasters and the endangerment of iconic natural wonders can generate the emotional urgency and provide the missing link needed to transform sustainable travel from lip service to action.

Ng Yixin is a Singapore-based independent writer for travel, sustainability and enterprise.

Source: CNA/el
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