Travel without a guilty conscience? Holidays usually have a negative impact on the climate, simply because of the journey to and from the destination. Holiday destinations in Europe are trying to remain attractive through climate awareness.
Summer, sun, beach – vacation can be so wonderful. But in times of mass tourism and the climate crisis, many people start to think. How can I travel with the smallest possible ecological footprint?
Important European holiday destinations for Germans are trying to ease their consciences with targeted measures and offers and remain attractive as a destination. An overview:
Italy
The dream country of many German holidaymakers is particularly suffering from overtourism. In 2023, almost half a billion overnight stays were counted. In cities like Rome or Florence, the flow of visitors is sometimes unbearable – but the crowds are also pushing through smaller towns like Bolzano, Capri or San Gimignano. In Venice, an entrance fee of five euros is now being charged on certain dates to deter day visitors.
In the capital Rome, it is a common occurrence for holidaymakers to faint because of the heat. There have always been fountains with drinking water on street corners – but everyone knows that this is no longer enough in times of climate change. Now attempts are being made to green the city again. 100,000 trees are currently being nurtured to provide shade. Many other municipalities are also taking the rising temperatures into account: with new architectural projects, with strict no-car zones and also with state subsidies for homeowners who make changes for the sake of the environment.
Spain
Spain, Europe’s most popular holiday destination, is heading for a new record in visitor numbers: 24 million tourists were counted in the first quarter alone; a double-digit increase on the same period last year. In hotspots such as Barcelona, the Canaries and especially the Balearic Islands, mass tourism not only leads to social problems such as the displacement of locals, but also to significant environmental problems.
In Mallorca and the other Balearic Islands, the government is trying to counteract this. A law on sustainability and circular economy in the tourism sector has been in force there since 2022. This is intended to force hotels, restaurants and other parts of the tourism industry to operate in a more environmentally friendly way. They must explain how much energy and water they have used so far, what waste they produce and where they get their food from. Then they must save: on energy, water and waste. It also involves photovoltaic systems, insulating houses and using exhaust air heat.
Croatia
The popular holiday destination on the Adriatic with its picturesque bays and islands is attracting more and more holidaymakers. In 2023, the Ministry of Tourism recorded 20.6 million travelers with 108 million overnight stays – including many Germans. The flow of holidaymakers is concentrated in the summer months. The architectural jewel Dubrovnik with its picturesque sea fortress is struggling with overcrowding – the city on the southern Adriatic is now restricting access to cruise ships and buses with day trippers.
A strategy for the development of sustainable tourism by 2030 is intended to help. One billion euros are to be made available for this. Tourist destinations away from the Adriatic coast are now to be developed. This includes the expansion of wellness and health tourism. Slightly dilapidated sanatoriums could be renovated to become a modern offering.
Greece
Tourism and climate change pose a dilemma for the country: on the one hand, it must focus on climate protection because it is increasingly plagued by drought, floods and catastrophic forest fires. On the other hand, the Greeks are dependent on tourism, one of the most important factors of the Greek economy.
The government now wants to invest two billion euros in civil and climate protection. It says it wants to become a pioneer for new solutions and sustainable tourism. This includes small local measures, for example on the island of Tilos, whose residents now recycle 90 percent of their waste, or on the island of Astypalea, which is to be completely converted to e-mobility and green energy. The balance is positive for green electricity: wind and solar power now account for a good half of Greek energy.
Austria
The state has been expanding its offerings for sustainable, climate-friendly tourism for years. Buses and trains are to be made more attractive. In the state of Salzburg, tourists staying overnight there will be able to travel on all public transport for a small fee from July 2025. Other regions offer similar things. A lot has happened in winter tourism: lifts powered by solar power, snow groomers that run on biofuels, snowmaking systems that run 90 percent on renewable energy. Overall, according to the Austrian Tourist Board, energy consumption per overnight stay has fallen significantly in recent years.
In view of the fact that winters have less snow, alternatives to skiing are to be developed in the lower regions. A national mountain bike strategy is the current plan. The capital city of Vienna is focusing on greening streets and using an app to point holidaymakers to hundreds of drinking fountains and more than 100 mist showers.
Switzerland
In Geneva and other Swiss cities, guests staying overnight in a hotel can use the bus and tram for free to reduce traffic. In the canton of Ticino, there is even the Ticino Ticket, which is valid throughout the canton from the mountains in the north to Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano. The municipality of Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland is considering reducing the avalanche of cars in the mountain village, which sometimes has traffic jams that stretch for miles, by charging an entrance fee similar to Venice. This is aimed only at day tourists who only come for a selfie in front of the impressive mountain backdrop and do not stay overnight in the region.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
The holiday region in the northeast is considered a top destination with its Baltic Sea beaches, lakes, the islands of Rügen and Usedom, and 7.6 million guests with 32 million overnight stays (2023). There is a range of green hotels, organic hotels and hotels that offer climate-neutral overnight stays. Two shore power systems have been installed at the Warnemünde cruise port, with which appropriately equipped ships can ensure power supply without running diesel engines during layovers, thus ensuring low emissions.
In 2023, the climate footprint of holidaymakers was measured for the first time in MV. The majority of emissions, 46 percent, were attributable to mobility. During the peak season, the islands and the Fischland-Darß-Zingst region in particular suffer from high levels of holiday traffic. Some municipalities are trying to counteract this with free bus services. “Dedicated engagement with climate protection and adaptation strategies is a long-distance run of which only a few stages have been completed,” said association head Tobias Woitendorf.
Allgaeu
The Allgäu wants to remain a popular travel destination even in the face of climate change. The Bavarian Alpine destination is facing the challenge of enabling ski tourism despite global warming. According to the tourism association, the decline in days with natural snow is likely to continue: in the tourist hotspot Oberstdorf, a study for the year 2050 predicts 105 days with natural snow instead of the current 118.
The artificial snow cannons are controversial. The Allgäu tourism industry justifies the technical snowmaking by saying that it does not use any additional water. Three out of four mountain railways also run the snow cannons using green electricity. Environmentalists are nevertheless not in favor of the technology. “The Nature Conservation Association rejects the use of artificial snow because it has numerous negative effects on nature and unnecessarily delays the necessary structural change at the expense of the general public,” stresses the environmental association.