Benjamin Wong, a teacher from Singapore, finds solace at an altitude of 8,530 feet during his summer breaks, a stark contrast to the sweltering conditions in his home city-state where temperatures frequently exceed 80°F. Like many others, Wong prioritizes cooler destinations for his holidays, stating, “Other than weekend getaways to neighboring Southeast Asian cities, all my other holidays are always to places cooler than Singapore.” He expressed a reluctance to endure heat waves in Europe, which he noted has also been experiencing unpredictable weather, potentially making a 13-hour flight to suffer higher temperatures than Singapore’s a wasted effort.
Wong’s personal travel choices reflect a broader global trend, with travel experts coining the term “coolcations” for destinations chosen specifically for their cooler climates. This phenomenon is not limited to tourists; approximately 75% of workers in Asia are exposed to extreme heat, including essential service providers like food vendors and delivery drivers who often serve tourists, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The situation in Asia is particularly dire, as the continent is warming at twice the global average rate, according to the WMO. Japan, for instance, has seen record-breaking numbers of both international visitors and extreme heat days, with an all-time high temperature of 107.2°F recorded. Notably, five of Japan’s hottest days on record occurred last summer, prompting the nation to adopt the term “kokusho-bi,” meaning a cruelly hot day.
While many travelers attempt to circumvent the heat by visiting during shoulder seasons, the northern hemisphere summer remains the dominant travel period due to school schedules, which often include extended breaks for students in Asia during June-August. This convergence of intense heat and high tourist volumes can create unbearable conditions.
To cope, some travelers are opting for outdoor attractions during the cooler early morning or evening hours. Get Your Guide, a travel experience booking platform, has responded by expanding its offerings of nighttime activities. In Asia, these “dusking” experiences include nighttime tours of Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari shrine, sunset sails on Thailand’s Mekong River, and ghost-story tours in Seoul. Bookings for activities between 5-9 p.m. have surged by 30%, with Asia being the largest market, experiencing a 70% increase.
Takao Nishina, Japan and South Korea manager for Get Your Guide, observes that first-time visitors and those aiming to tick off bucket-list items are most inclined to endure extreme heat. For these travelers, he notes, “suffering through the weather is just part of the adventure.” Nishina is actively developing new options, such as relocating cooking classes from open-air markets to indoor venues and scheduling tours of sumo stadiums during peak sunshine hours to allow for outdoor activities in the morning.
Brian Yung, a Hong Kong marketing professional, believes he has been taking “coolcations” without consciously realizing it. He has vacationed in Finland, Denmark, and Canada in recent years. While Japan remains a favorite destination, he now prefers its mountainous regions like Yamagata over cities like Tokyo and Osaka, recalling a winter visit to Yamagata that felt colder than Finland. “I’m always thinking about how can I get out of the heat and the humidity,” Yung stated. “I feel like subconsciously I’ve been choosing places that are cooler.”
While it may seem counterintuitive, certain regions are experiencing a tourism boost due to climate change. Professor Raymond Rastegar of Griffith University, who studies climate change’s impact on travel, points to New Zealand’s South Island, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Japan’s Hokkaido, and Tasmania in Australia as beneficiaries of pleasant June-to-August weather. Mongolia’s state tourism agency reported a 33% increase in visitors in the first half of 2026 and is investing in infrastructure in its capital, Ulaanbaatar. Tasmania recorded its busiest winter travel season in 2025, attracting approximately 250,000 visitors during the June-August period, a 7% rise from the previous year.
Beyond heat, changing typhoon patterns can prolong rainy seasons, and extreme humidity can make warm days unbearable. Namgyal Sherpa, CEO of Sherpa Hospitality Group in Nepal, notes that “climate variability is reshaping both travel behavior and operational planning.” He adds, “Demand is spreading across a longer operating window with reduced seasonality gaps.”
Even well-researched travelers can be caught off guard by extreme weather. Rastegar highlights a significant challenge: “One of the biggest challenges now we have is lack of awareness when it comes to travelers, especially when they travel to other destinations, because they are not familiar with the climate, how hot it may get, so they are very vulnerable.”
Ironically, some of the most climate-vulnerable locations are experiencing “last chance tourism,” driven by a desire to visit places before they disappear, such as the Maldives before sea erosion or the Great Barrier Reef amidst coral bleaching. In these instances, climate change acts as both the cause and the consequence of the issues.
The impact of climate change on travel planning is now widespread. Rastegar recalls that a decade or two ago, climate change concerns were limited to a few destinations like the Maldives. “Now it’s real, it’s everywhere,” he states. “It might be heat, it might be bushfires, it might be flood, it might be storms. It’s everywhere. Every destination, they are doing their best to make sure they remain competitive when it comes to tourism. They know climate change is part of their strategy. They have to address these challenges.” Rastegar himself, though not using the term “coolcation,” considers weather when planning vacations, having visited Finland last summer.
Last month, temperatures in France soared to 104 F as a “heat dome” enveloped the country. In an unprecedented move, Paris officials asked organizers of the annual summer music festival Fete de la Musique not to sell alcohol, as dehydration and heat stroke were serious risks to attendees. In Spain, the UK, and Switzerland, temperatures hit all-time highs, prompting many outdoor attractions to close or restrict their hours.
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